


Automatically in love

by reallyokaygirl



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-05 11:50:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21208055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reallyokaygirl/pseuds/reallyokaygirl
Summary: A collection of short and fluffy Seulrene one-shots (around 5,000 words) that will be written while I listen exclusively to my queen, Carly Rae Jepsen, so I don’t accidentally write angst.





	1. Blend into my favourite colour

**Author's Note:**

> _It’s a real rollercoaster_  
When the wind goes the other way  
But you and me, right away, baby  
We were automatically in love 
> 
> \- Automatically in Love by Carly Rae Jepsen

Yeri set Joohyun up on a blind date. It went about as well as one could expect. 

_Title from: My Favourite Colour by Carly Rae Jepsen_

* * *

It was only Monday. The work week had barely even started. A quick glance at her alarm clock (6:30 am) told her that the day had only _just_ begun.

So why in the world was Kim Yerim storming into Joohyun’s bedroom with a bright happy smile and in full, loud volume?!

“_Unnie!_ Wake up! Did you even hear what I said?!” 

Joohyun glared at her evil assistant and best friend (although the latter was a title Joohyun was still questioning ever giving to her).

“What did you say?” Joohyun asked her _dongsaeng _with all the anger she could muster, hoping she could at least intimidate Yeri into feeling guilty. It clearly didn’t work, because her assistant continued as though Joohyun wasn’t shooting laser beams with her eyes.

The _nerve_ of this kid. 

“I said, Miss Grumpy Pants, that it was a beautiful morning,” Yeri said, opening Joohyun’s curtains so that the little bit of 6 am daylight beamed into the dark room. Joohyun hid her face under her blanket immediately. “The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and _you_ owe me a favour.”

“I owe you nothing, Kim Yerim,” Joohyun grumbled into her pillow. “Go away, it’s too early…” 

“Well then, I guess you don’t care about the Grand Bell Award nomination announcements,” Yeri said, all too casually for what she was talking about. Joohyun poked her head up from under her blanket. 

“I’m awake, I’m awake,” she said, sitting up slightly. 

“Guess what?” Yeri asked, grinning. She passed her phone. On the screen was the Grand Bell Award website, with the nominations on full display. Joohyun held her breath and scrolled to the category where she’d be nominated, if by some miracle she was.

_Best Actress_… 

There were a couple of familiar names and faces…

Oh god.

She was there.

_Right there. _

Her face and name, included alongside four other amazing actresses.

_Bae Joohyun for Peekaboo. _

The new nominee jumped out of bed and let out a cheer that could only be described as a wail, shocked and awed. She pulled her amazing assistant and very best friend into a hug, the two giggling as they celebrated the good news.

It was only Monday! And her week was already amazing! 

Joohyun pulled out her own phone and saw the nearly hundred missed calls and texts from various people - her agents, her managers, her parents, and her friends. She was about to reply to her mother’s congratulatory message when she remembered how Yeri greeted her. 

“Wait, what did you say about a favour?”

“I’m so glad you remembered, _unnie_,” Yeri said, again with her devilish grin. “Last night, during our silly argument where you were _certain_ you wouldn’t be nominated, you said something _very_ interesting…”

“I did?” she said, wearily.

“You did. This is all just further proof that I know best, _unnie_. I mean, I was positive you’d be nominated, and you were. And I encouraged you to take this role on in the first place, right?”

“Yes…” 

It was true. Joohyun didn’t think she had the range for a role like this, but Yeri did. Joohyuun knew that Yeri believed in her talent more than anyone did. Yeri really was her number one supporter, a really great best friend.

“Well, let me read to you what you sent me: _‘If I’m nominated, then I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll wear a burlap sack on the red carpet, I’ll tweet that you’re the greatest woman of our generation, whatever you want, Yerimie.’_”

“...Oh god, you’re not going to make me wear a sack, are you?” Joohyun asked nervously, her good mood over her nomination not _hampered_, but still slightly diminished. 

“Nope, not at all.”

“What then?” she asked. Her apprehension grew as Yeri’s grin did. 

“I have a friend who would be _perfect_ for you…”

“Yerim, _no_.” 

“Yerim, _yes!” _

“No! This isn’t fair, I’ve been entrapped!” Joohyun whined. 

“No, you haven’t! You should meet her, she’s perfect for you!”

This wasn’t the first time that Yerim had tried to set Joohyun up with one of her numerous friends. It’s like Yeri was a magnet for single, gay women in Korea. She was friends with everyone of all ages, and she always had a suggestion for her boss. 

Yerim was a self-proclaimed ‘Love Expert’ who believed that she had the magic touch when it came to setting people up. And unfortunately for Joohyun, Yeri set her sights on matching her with someone.

It was annoying. 

(“Hey _unnie_! You should meet my friend Sunmi, she’s a year younger than you and she’s tall and _so _beautiful…”

“Remember how I told you about my Kiwi friend, _unnie_? Her name is Jennie and she’s coming to the party tonight. You should get to know her!”

“_Unnie_! You’ve heard of Taeyeon, right?! Well… actually, nevermind. She’s too cool for you, ignore me.”)

Her love life was _no one’s_ business. Not her parent’s, not the press, not her agency’s, and definitely not her assistant. It didn’t matter that they were best friends.

But for _some reason_ Yeri disagreed with her. Kids these days were _so_ disrespectful to their elders.

“Tough. You’re going to love her. Her name is Sooyoung and she’s going to meet you tomorrow night at SM Gallery. Free wine and hors d'oeuvres. You’ll like it, it’s a bunch of up-and-coming Korean artists doing an exhibition and they’ll all be there. You like discovering new artists, right?” 

Damn it. That _did_ sound like something she wanted to go to…

“_Fine_. I’m going.”

“Great! I told her last week that you’d meet her there!”

“_Ya! _What if I wasn’t nominated?” Joohyun asked.

“Unnie, you don’t understand that you’re an _amazing _actress. There was never a chance that you wouldn’t be nominated. You’re definitely going to win,” Yeri said, confidently. “Plus, I would’ve physically dragged you to this date, if I had to.”

Joohyun pouted. 

“You’re lucky that I love you, Kim Yerim.”

“_Unnie_, you’re lucky I love _you_. No one else would have the will power to go against all of your hermit instincts and push you out of your comfort zone like I do, right? As your Love Expert friend, I’m the only one who is committed to making sure you find true love. And finally get laid.” 

Joohyun replied by pushing Yeri off the bed. 

-

Yerim _still_ escorted her to the date. She was there when her driver arrived, making sure she went into the car and didn’t try to sneak away when they arrived. She said this was because she didn’t think Joohyun was trustworthy which….

Fair point. 

But out of principle, she was just going to stay for as long as she needed to and then make an excuse to leave early.

She was sure that whoever Yeri had set her up with was..._fine_...but she really didn’t trust Yeri with these kinds of things. How could _Yeri_, her assistant who was eight years younger than her, really be a ‘Love Expert’ when she _still _hadn’t been introduced to her supposed girlfriend of three months. She didn’t know her name or what she looked like. 

Joohyun was beginning to think Yeri’s girlfriend was made up. 

When she entered the gallery, all Joohyun knew was to keep an eye out for a beautiful woman wearing a red dress. She had that and the woman’s first name, but no other info. Her eyes scanned the room and she spotted her.

And wow.

The woman had a stunning freshness to her look that contrasted against her dark, sultry make-up. Full, beautiful lips and big bright eyes. She was tall too - and the dress showed off her beautiful long legs. 

Joohyun had to commend Yeri.

She was _really _beautiful.

“Are you Sooyoung?” Joohyun asked, approaching the woman.

The woman’s smile dazzled her as she nodded.

“And you’re Joohyun. I recognize you from… well, everywhere,” the woman said, charmingly. She reached her hand forward to shake Joohyun’s.

Her skin was _so_ soft.

“It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Likewise.” 

-

The date… had been… well…

...a disappointment. 

This was exactly why Joohyun didn’t want to go out with some random girl that Yeri knew. 

Aside from the initial physical attraction, there just wasn’t anything that excited Joohyun about her. She was nice enough, sure. She was funny and quick-witted. They were both actors, but Sooyoung was still on the rise, mostly working in television dramas. That’s why Joohyun didn’t recognize her. 

But they had nothing in common. 

Sooyoung was bold and confident. She was quick to form an opinion about something. In contrast, Joohyun was deliberate and thoughtful. She wanted to know all the facts and reflect on a situation before she acted. This difference led to some awkward misunderstandings between the two.

And it had only been 45 minutes since their date started. 

Sooyoung spent a lot of time talking about her dog, Haetnim. Joohyun was terrified of dogs. Her favourite food was chicken. Joohyun couldn’t stomach it. And to top it off, Sooyoung kept making age jokes and short jokes; Joohyun did _not_ appreciate those. 

In fact, Joohyun found her to be quite similar to Yerim, both of them with their teasing senses of humour and approaches to life. If anything it made her feel a familial affection towards the woman; there were no romantic feelings at all.

On top of that, Sooyoung seemed antsy - she could barely stand still and kept distractingly looking down at her phone. She didn’t even focus on the _incredible_ work that surrounded them. 

It really turned Joohyun off.

“Do you like art?” Joohyun asked, trying to engage with her. 

“Sure! It’s pretty sometimes. I don’t understand this stuff though… what’s with all the lines?! And the random splotchy colours?! Just draw a regular person, my god...”

Joohyun barely held in her scoff then turned back to the piece that Sooyoung was gesturing at. And in front of her was the most stunning canvas that she’d ever seen before.

“I think it’s _beautiful_.”

Joohyun took it in. A series of lines, cleverly and intricately drawn to reveal different faces and shapes that demonstrated the complexity of humanity. Behind these lines were colours, seemingly painted in watercolours that contrasted the solid colours with a depth that Joohyun couldn’t understand. 

It was like the beauty of diversity was represented on a canvas before her. 

One of Joohyun’s most favourite pastimes was to visit art galleries and museums. She found inspiration in discovering new and established artists and seeing the world through their eyes. When she explored different creations, it helped her find depth in her own performances as an actress. 

This artist in particular really spoke to Joohyun. So Joohyun was even more aghast by her date’s blasé reaction to the artwork.

When her date left abruptly to go to the bathroom, she took it as an opportunity to focus her attention on the piece before her.

There was something soothing about it that helped calm and ease her annoyance at Sooyoung for being a bad date and Yeri for getting her into this mess in the first place. 

While she continued to be mesmerized by the canvas in front of her (which the little placard next to it said was called ‘_Kingdom Come by Kang Seulgi’_)_, _she felt someone stand beside her.

She sighed, thinking it was Sooyoung, but was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t. 

The woman looked around her age - younger even. Despite her normcore attire and vibe, she looked a little apprehensive. Joohyun couldn’t understand that though. The girl was _cool_. With a beret on her head, a blazer around her shoulders and yellow chucks on her feet, she thought this girl looked like she’d walked in from a hip town in Europe. On top of that, she was beautiful enough to be an Idol.

“Your friend didn’t seem too impressed…” the girl said finally, after smiling at her for a moment. 

Joohyun blushed and shook her head. 

“Oh. She’s _not_ my friend. I barely know her…”

The girl laughed. “Okay, well - how do _you_ feel about it?”

Joohyun looked back at the artwork and let herself be taken by it once again. “It’s stunning. Everything here is stunning, but this in particular? It’s… _incredible_…”

“You think so?” the girl asked, quirking her head in disbelief. 

“Yes. You feel the artist’s...exploration, passion, discovery. You can feel the switch between mediums and the weight that it brings to the piece. The single line art with the contrasting blend of colours? It’s honestly breathtaking.”

The woman smiled and blushed a little. Then she held out her hand. 

“I’m glad you like it. I’m Seulgi - I’m the artist...”

Joohyun eyes widened, totally surprised. She was embarrassed by how much she gushed over the work and bowed awkwardly as she took the artist’s hand.

“Wow. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Bae Joohyun. A new fan.”

“I know who you are,” Seulgi admitted, the colour deepening on her cheeks. “I recognized you as soon as I saw you. I’m a fan of yours as well.”

This happened fairly often, but it made Joohyun blush every time; being in the public eye was weird. But she was also a little delighted that this beautiful, cool woman seemed to like her too. 

“So how did you hear about this exhibition?” Seulgi asked.

“My friend told me about it, actually; I didn’t really know what I was coming to see, but-”

“I’m back! Sorry about that Joohyun-sunbaenim,” Sooyoung said, reappearing next to her and making Joohyun jump. “Hi! I’m Park Sooyoung.”

She reached her hand forward to introduce herself to Seulgi. 

“Hi. I’m Kang Seulgi.”

“Oh! The artist. Nice to meet you.”

“I just saw some friends enter and I should greet them. But thank you both for attending the exhibit,” Seulgi said, politely bowing. 

Seulgi walked away with one last smile to Joohyun. For some reason, she felt sad to see her walk away. 

“Hey, I’m so sorry I have to do this, but I have to go.” Sooyoung said.

“Oh?” Joohyun asked, trying not to sound happy by this fact. 

“Yeah; my manager has scheduled a last minute meeting with a potential director and I have to meet her on the other side of town in less than an hour,” Sooyoung said with a pout. “I’m sorry I have to leave you like this, it was really nice to meet you, Joohyun-_sunbaemin_.” 

“It’s okay, Sooyoung; I understand. I remember having to drop everything like that when I first started,” she commiserate. “But hopefully that’s a sign that more people are interested in working with you and you’ll get even more dramas.”

“Thank you,” Sooyoung said. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll work together one day.”

“That would be great.”

“Will you be okay alone? Do you want me to stay while you wait for your driver or…”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Joohyun assured. She looked around and found Seulgi had been taken away, talking to other gallery attendees. “I want to see the rest of the exhibition.”

Sooyoung laughed, following Joohyun’s line of sight. “Yerim was right about you, by the way.”

“What’s that?”

“Well she told me a few things - that you’re reserved, a little serious, but once you have your eye on something, you do what you can to get it.”

“She told me literally nothing about you…”

“And she also said you were a sucker for a pretty face,” Sooyoung teased, nodding towards Seulgi. “Go talk to her, Joohyun-_sunbaenim._ I’ll see you around. I’m sure of it.”

Sooyoung walked away, acting like she knew more than she let on. Joohyun shook her head - Yerim was weird, so it made sense that her friend was weird too - and she decided to just walk around. 

She wasn’t going to dignify Yerim or Sooyoung’s gossip about her.

(Also, when was it a bad thing to like pretty women?!)

Fortunately, all distractions pushed aside, Joohyun was able to immerse herself in the incredible beauty that surrounded her. It was clear that this entire exhibition featured some of the most talented new artists in Korea, and possibly the world.

There was artwork from Kim Kibum, whose canvases were full of colour, bold and expected. Art by Kim Ahyoung, who seemed to capture the world using just graphite and paper. A few canvases from Song Minho, which made daring political statements. There were other artists on display, but Seulgi’s work was definitely the standout. 

She felt a connection to the work - and the artist - immediately.

“You stayed,” the familiar voice said, interrupting her from evaluating the canvas in front of her. Joohyun grinned when she saw that it was Seulgi who stood next to her, once again.

“I did.”

“I saw your acquaintance leave,” Seulgi explained. “I thought you might’ve left too.”

Joohyun shook her head. 

“I hadn’t even seen half of the gallery yet, why would I leave? All of it is just so _powerful.”_

“‘Powerful’? You think so?”

“Yes. Like this one. I should’ve known you made it too.” Joohyun gestured at the image before her, titled ‘_Zimzalabim.’_ The large canvas was covered in dynamic and colourful lines that flowed together in a seemingly random way but ultimately created something bold, expressive, and unexpected. “It’s unlike anything I have ever seen before.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Definitely. It’s the most visceral representation of passion and energy I’ve seen in years,” Joohyun said, in complete honesty. 

To her surprise, Seulgi blushed at her compliment. “Thank you, so much, Joohyun-_ssi._” 

Joohyun smiled at Seulgi’s modest response. “Surely you’ve been told this before?”

“It just...feels more sincere coming from you,” Seulgi admitted, “versus a professor or an art critic or anyone else.” 

“Well thank _you._ I’m just describing what I’m seeing.”

“You’re just...seeing everything I hoped I’d shown and it’s...so validating.” 

“Excuse me, Seulgi-ssi?” a young man interrupted. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but you have a potential buyer…”

Seulgi frowned. “Oh, okay, I have to deal with this…”

“Go for it, yes! I might just be another buyer by the end of the night in me,” Joohyun said. She had her eye on the first piece that captured her attention, _Kingdom Come_. 

“So you’ll stay? I’ll be right back.”

“Of course. I haven’t even been upstairs, still lots to see.”

“I’ll join you then?” Seulgi asked, shyly. 

“Yes please.”

“I’ll come back as fast as I can,” Seulgi said eagerly, which made Joohyun laugh as she saw the girl trip over her feet to deal with the sale quickly. “You’ll have my full attention, I promise!”

-

It had been a long time since someone treated her like a real person.

After Seulgi made her sale - one of her pieces titled ‘_Russian Roulette’_ \- as promised, Joohyun received her full and undivided attention. Even when Seulgi’s assistant, Renjun, tried to come to facilitate another sale, Seulgi declined.

“Sorry, Renjunnie - you’ll have to make this sale without me. I promised Joohyun_-ssi_ that I’d show her around the gallery first.”

The sweet way that Seulgi made her a priority made Joohyun swoon even more.

As they explored the gallery, Joohyun got to learn more about Seulgi. The more she discovered, the more she liked the woman. 

She trained at the _New York School of the Arts_ where she lived with her best friend, a Canadian girl named Wendy. After graduating, instead of continuing to work in the States, she decided to come home and immerse herself in the art scene in Seoul. It was like starting from scratch for her, but she believed that being able to create work that merged her experiences and training in New York with her passion and love for her home, made her work even better. 

And when Joohyun shared, she did so without feeling like she was being prodded for juicy, vapid gossip. Talking to most people felt like she was being evaluated and interviewed. But talking with Seulgi made her feel comfortable.

It was a rare feeling, especially when meeting someone new. 

As they reached the end of the upstairs exhibition hall, looking at a series of frightening clown portraits by Seulgi’s friend, Kibum, Joohyun began to fidget. She didn’t want the night to end. 

This has been an _amazing_ date. 

The only problem was, the date wasn’t with Seulgi.

Seulgi was… so great. She was creative and pretty and funny and she seemed genuinely interested in Joohyun. This was so rare; as an actress, she was often dismissed as mindless or vapid. People tended to see her as just a pretty face and sometimes it was easier for her to let them believe it. But Seulgi listened to her when she spoke, like what she had to say was important and it _mattered._

It had been so long since Joohyun had been interested in anyone. She’d forgotten how amazing it felt to have butterflies for someone. 

“So this is it, Joohyun-_ssi_. I’m sorry it had to end on Kibim’s creepy _Gwangdae _display. I told him it was too weird,” Seulgi siad, mistaking Joohyun’s fidgeting for being uncomfortable with the clowns (which she was, but she wasn’t fidgeting because of that). 

“I wish I could see more of your art, honestly,” Joohyun said, as Seulgi led her back towards some of her own paintings. “The other artists were great too, but there’s just something about your work…” 

Seulgi sheepishly reached up to scratch the back of her head and shrugged. 

“Well, uh, if you’re interested, my apartment is a few blocks away. I some stuff in-progress there and some other pieces...”

“Yes!” Joohyun said, enthusiastically. She shrunk back when she realized how eager she sounded and blushed. “I mean… that would be great. If you like!” 

“Sure - let me just tell Renjun that we’re heading out…”

-

While Joohyun waited in the foyer for Seulgi to grab her stuff to leave, she looked down at her phone and saw a few messages from Yerim. 

‘_How’s your date going, unnie?’_

_‘Are you madly in love yet?’_

She put her phone away. 

Yeri could wait.

-

There was so much life in Seulgi’s apartment. 

It really felt more like a big studio space. It was an open area, with a large majority of the room dedicated to varying sizes, shapes and types of paper and canvases and different materials to work with. There was also a small kitchen area and a space dedicated to a couch and television. A bookshelf stood in the living area too, full of books and DVDs. Steps led to a second level, which looked down on the art space below. Seulgi explained that was where her bedroom was.

She showed her canvas after canvas, the creative energy flowed through every item. Everything that Seulgi touched was an expression of her talents. 

“And this one is called _Body Talk. _I made it after my last relationship fell apart.”

The canvas, which used deeper and darker shades and tones than most of her other work, spoke to Joohyun. 

“I don’t really show this one much, because I’m afraid that people will misinterpret it and only see it for the dark tones,” Seulgi explained. “I started painting it when I was absolutely heartbroken over my ex-girlfriend. But I finished it a few months later, after my heart healed. It’s supposed to capture the idea that the end of every relationship is another new beginning.” 

Joohyun nodded. “There’s yearning and loss in this piece, but it there’s also something else. Like I can feel your sadness, but at the same time, it shows strength; a resolve to move forward.”

“That’s exactly what it is,” Seulgi said, with a small, awed smile. 

Finally, when she was done showing her the collection of completed works she had, she led them to a drafting table that was against her window. On it was a large sketchbook. 

“Do you wanna learn?” 

“Learn what?”

“You said you liked how I did the single line art; I can teach you!”

“I think you’re underestimating how talentless I am at drawing.”

“Impossible. You’re an artist, like me. You act. I draw. But it’s still a way we express ourselves, at the end of the day.” 

“Fine - but I don’t want to waste your beautiful paper.”

“It’s not a waste at all.” Seulgi sat on the little stool at her desk leaving a bit of room for Joohyun to sit. “Sit next to me!”

She patted the space next to her. 

It was a little chair, so when Joohyun sat, the two were pressed together, shoulder to shoulder. She didn’t know how Seulgi expected her to learn anything while she could smell her sweet berry-scented perfume. 

“I'll start and I’ll show you how,” she said, picking up a pencil. She narrated as she effortlessly began to draw the image of a face, looking up at Joohyun as she did. Joohyun quickly realized that she was drawing _her_, which made her heart flutter. “I gauge where things should be as I sketch. It's the vibe that's important; it doesn't need to be exact."

“It's so cool,” Joohyun said, breathlessly, as her face began to appear on the page.

“It's easy right? You should try!” Seulgi encouraged. She handed her the pencil.

“What did you say just say? _Easy?”_

Seulgi laughed at Joohyun’s incredulous look. 

“You’ll be great! It’s not that difficult.” 

“Easy for you to say!”

Still, Joohyun took the pencil. Just as Seulgi did, she drew the woman sitting next to her. It was a good opportunity for her to take in the artist’s own beauty. Her distinct, piercing eyes. Her full lips which were either in a full smile or a sexy pout. Her high cheekbones, sharp jawline, cute nose with heart-shaped nostrils. 

She was stunning.

"Circle...forehead…” Joohyun said, narrating as well. But in Joohyun’s case, her drawing looked like a disaster. She started laughing. “Is this really the same pencil?!”

Seulgi giggled. “You’re doing great, it’s fine!”

Joohyun shook her head and put her pencil down.

“No, I can't do this. It looks like _Mabbagi_!”

Seulgi burst out into full laughter, a bellowing, adorable laugh that made her eyes turn into adorable smiles. Even though it was definitely at her expense, Joohyun couldn’t help but laugh along with her. 

She turned to jokingly scold Seulgi for laughing at her but then realized how close their faces were. Seulgi seemed to notice too, as her eyes flicked down to her lips.

The mood changed immediately.

All she needed to do was lean forward…

So she did. And they were kissing. 

It was like one of Seulgi’s paintings.

It was energetic and passionate but also thoughtful and almost reverential. Seulgi kissed her and Joohyun’s world transformed into colours and swirls, emotions and sensuality. Seulgi’s soft pillowy lips contrasted with the strong hands that held her hips. 

Like how she let go with everything she created, Seulgi seemed to let it all go with Joohyun. And it only inspired Joohyun to do the same. 

She continued to kiss her, deepening the kiss with a gentle coaxing of her tongue against her lip, in a silent request for entry. When Seulgi granted it, she licked and tasted, almost getting a high when Seulgi groaned and eagerly reciprocated. 

“This is a more than just a tonight thing, right?” Seulgi asked, panting. “Because I don’t think I could continue if it wasn’t…”

“Seulgi…” 

“You’re just...kind of amazing. I’ve known you for barely two hours but you’re incredible. and I think you’re beautiful - beyond anything I’ve seen or made and it’s my job to make beautiful things. But not only that but I really like you, you’re smart and funny and you’re sweet, and I just-“

Joohyun couldn’t help herself. Although she’s still trying to catch her own breath, she pulled Seulgi in for another kiss..

How could she not, when Seulgi was being so adorable? 

“Seulgi, I want to see you again. I want to keep getting to know you too,” Joohyun said, when they broke apart. “I think you’re...also incredible.”

“Really?”

Joohyun trailed her fingers over Seulgi’s cheeks, smiling as she touched her cheekbones and feeling Seulgi lean into her caress. 

“Yes.”

When Seulgi leaned in again to take her lips once more, Joohyun was struck with how perfect this night had gone. It didn’t exactly go as planned, but as Seulgi let out a low moan in response to Joohyun marking her gorgeous neck, she didn’t care at all. 

-

Joohyun doesn’t know how she had the willpower to leave Seulgi that night. But she somehow found it. If she stayed, she didn’t know if she would’ve been able to _not_ give into Seulgi’s perfect smile and touch and body…

_Oh god._

She was totally swooning. It was so out of character for her.

As a dignified, Grand Bell-nominated actress, she was embarrassed by her school girl behaviour. As a totally gay disaster, she had half the mind to abandon her schedule, find Seulgi and have her way with her.

It’d been barely a few hours since they first met, but the next day Joohyun could barely focus on work. She’d been texting back and forth with the artist as they tried to make plans for their official first date.

Seulgi suggested a drive to the beach to watch the sunset. Joohyun had to stop herself from proposing to her immediately. 

(See? Gay disaster.) 

Finally, their meeting was over. Joohyun paid no attention but she knew Yerim would be taking notes, anyway. 

Speaking of Yeri, Joohyun was still annoyed with her. When they got into the car to head to Joohyun’s next schedule - a photoshoot for a CF - she was finally able to berate Yerim for her _terrible_ set-up.

“How was your date last night?” Yeri said, with a coy grin.

Joohyun glared. “She didn’t seem interested in me _at all_. And she left early! But we had nothing in common, so I have no idea why you set me up with her in the first place. Do you even know me?!” 

“Oh, I know you, _unnie_,” Yeri said. “If your date was so bad, why did I find out that your driver had to pick you up somewhere else? And why have you been staring at your phone all morning?” 

Joohyun blushed. 

“No reason,” she answered quickly. 

“So your date was bad, but...did you meet someone?” 

Yeri had a suspiciously knowing smile. Joohyun felt unsettled. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked. Then she added, her eyebrows furrowing, concerned, “What do you know?”

This time Yeri’s smile was a full blown, shit-eating grin. “Well, I texted my friend this morning to ask her about her art show. You might know her, her name is _Kang Seulgi_…”

Joohyun’s eyes widened. “You know Seulgi?”

Yeri rolled her eyes and threw her hands up exasperatedly. 

“I have wanted you to meet her _for ages._ But I knew if I set you two up, you wouldn’t give her a chance because _for some reason_ you don’t trust me and my incredible taste.”

“What?!”

“So I set you up last night with Sooyoung as a ploy. I knew you’d write her off immediately, so she went along with my plan. I really just wanted you to meet Seulgi this whole time!” 

Good God, Joohyun could’ve strangled Yerim. 

“You are _infuriating_, Kim Yerim!”

“Infuriatingly _amazing_.”

“Wait, so is Sooyoung even gay? Is she single?!”

Yeri grinned. “She’s definitely gay and definitely _not_ single. She’s definitely an _amazing_ girlfriend. _My_ girlfriend, actually.”

“Kim Yerim!” Joohyun yelled. She’d been wanting to meet Yeri’s elusive girlfriend for _months_ now. “_That’s_ how I get to meet your girlfriend?! In one of your weird games?!”

Yeri just laughed, not even flinching at Joohyun’s words. 

“Joohyun, when will you learn that I am the master and you’re all my puppets?!”

Joohyun would’ve pushed Yeri out of the car if she could.

-

It was only a few weeks later, after several dates with Seulgi and the Grand Bell Awards given out, that Joohyun forgave Yeri for meddling. 

It was only fair. 

She was, after all, an award-_winning_ actress who had an _amazing and talented_ girlfriend.

When Joohyun accepted the award, Yeri was the first person she thanked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


	2. I didn’t just come here to dance (E)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seulgi is a choreographer who’s been asked to work with top Idol Irene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from: I Didn't Just Come Here To Dance by Carly Rae Jepsen  
This fic is unbeta'd, oopsies, sorry.
> 
> Also, this is pretty smutty, so I upped the rating from T to E.

Seulgi had an out of body experience when she opened her email that morning.

It wasn’t the newsletter email that she usually got from _Yogiyo_ that made her gasp (however, she didn’t delete it, ‘cause she knew she’d need the 20% off coupon at some point). Nor was it the forwarded email from her mom (which she _did_ delete, because her mom sent her too many spam emails). 

The email that made her gasp in amazement, fear and extreme joy was…

“Choreography Opportunity for SM Entertainment & Irene”

The subject line itself made her feel like she had died and ascended to a higher plane. 

Seulgi opened the email, nearly dropping her phone as she did, and her eyes widened. 

_To: Kang Seulgi_

_From: Lee Soongyu at SM Entertainment_

_Subject: Choreography Opportunity for SM Entertainment & Irene _

_Hello Kang Seulgi,_

_You have been chosen to choreograph Irene from SM Entertainment’s upcoming comeback. The song, Sunny Side Up, will be released in three months. We will require a choreographed dance for Irene and no more than four (4) dancers. _

_If you are interested, please send back the attached contract (signed). You will be sent the song for your review once our legal team verifies your signed agreement. _

_Thank you. Please reach out if you have any questions._

_Regards,_

_Lee Soongyu  
A&R at SM Entertainment_

...Honestly, she was shaking so much that she had to read over a few times before her brain understood what it meant.

Up-and-coming choreographer, Kang Seulgi, was going to work with Korea’s top Idol and her most _favourite_ artist in the world, _Irene_. I-_freaking-_rene! Just the thought of it made her nerves go haywire. 

She immediately signed the contract and emailed it back, trying to construct a response that was more than just all caps and yelling (her instinct told her that sending back, “OH MY GOD YES PLEASE I’LL EVEN PAY _YOU_ TO WORK WITH HER!” was not professional). 

This was the biggest opportunity she’d had so far, from her humble start in dance competitions, to working as a back-up dancer for a few different groups, now _this_. 

Her heartbeat still hadn’t regulated itself when she was sent the new single and the fangirl in her nearly _died_.

She loved all of Irene songs - like singles Happiness, Red Flavour and Dumb Dumb. But _this_ song? It was _so cool._ _Sunny Side Up! _was sexy, sultry and _so_ unlike anything Irene had ever released. Seulgi was excited to be part of this concept. 

Seulgi had two weeks to work on a routine that suited the song and Irene. Honestly, she was surprised that they chose to work with her. When she sent her dance reel to SM, she thought they’d get her to work with their boy bands or maybe their new rapper, Yeri. A lot of Seulgi’s work had a very _girl crush_ vibe. Most of Irene’s singles had been playful, fun pop but also classy and feminine - definitely not Seulgi’s style. 

Not that she was complaining, of course.

She was ready.

...she just hoped she wouldn’t make a fool of herself in front of Irene. 

-

When Irene walked into Seulgi’s humble dance studio two weeks later, Seulgi did two very foolish things immediately.

First, she tripped over nothing as soon as Irene took off her mask.

Second, she called Irene, _‘Godrene’_ like some fangirlling Twitter stan.

Seulgi could’ve caused a fire with how red her face turned, but _thankfully_ Irene seemed to find her funny. She laughed loudly, covering her smile with a polite hand over her mouth. 

Making Irene laugh in her first meeting with her _kind of_ made up for the fact that she was a gigantic idiot.

(It also didn’t help that her assistant Chaeyeon’s cough that followed her greeting sounded a lot like ‘_Pabo!’_)

To her absolute thrill, Irene was everything she imagined and _more._ She was charming and personable - definitely shy, but that didn’t stop her from being friendly to everyone. 

Irene was _distractingly_ perfect - to the point where Seulgi couldn’t look directly at her. She was even afraid that Irene might’ve thought she was being rude, but she couldn’t help it! If she looked at Irene long enough, Seulgi was sure she would’ve been too hopelessly in love to even _move_, much less dance. 

Fortunately, soon enough Irene and her manager were seated in front of the studio’s big mirrored walls to watch Seulgi, Chaeyeon and her two friends, Momo and Chungha dance the routine that Seulgi had worked so hard on. 

She took a few deep breaths before nodding at her other dance assistant, Donghyuck, to hit the music. 

She was confident. She was ready.

(She was a _little_ confident and _marginally_ ready. She created a routine that she thought was pretty good. It was hard, but she thought she created something that had the same flirty, fun vibe that Irene had, while still _trying _to keep some of Seulgi’s signature swag in the routine.)

The music started, and Irene’s gorgeous voice filled the room. 

‘_Sunny side up! _

_Sunny side up-up!’_

Seulgi lost herself to the music, as she always did when she danced, but even now, the moves felt unfamiliar to her. In trying to keep the vibe 'classically Irene’, she incorporated some steps that were out of practice to her. Some moves that she initially tried to include were vetoed by her dance team - they were too slick or too ‘full of swag.’ 

Where Seulgi tried to put in a pop, instead it was replaced with a pivot. Where she would’ve preferred to put in a hip-hop move, she put in a wave and twirl. 

She thought it looked _fine_, but when she snuck a look at Irene, to her disappointment, the Idol looked...bored.

Not rude, but...disinterested. It was a total surprise to Seulgi, because Irene seemed excited the whole time up to when they started dancing. 

Seulgi’s smile dropped, but she schooled her impression, and tried her best to finish the routine.

_Damn it._

She _ruined_ her shot!

The song reached the bridge; the only part in the choreography that Seulgi felt was 100% _her_ own style (where she - as Irene - got to run her hands over Chaeyeon’s body). Interestingly enough, Irene’s eyebrows raised and she leaned forward, like she was examining the movements. Seulgi considered it a win that there was at least one thing that Irene seemed interested in. 

Finally the song ended. Seulgi’s stomach dropped when Irene and her manager gave them a brief but subdued applause (it was out of politeness, really). 

All of them stood around waiting for Irene’s feedback. The Idol leaned in to whisper to her manager’s ear, then he spoke up.

“Can just the choreographer stay? Everyone else can leave. Thank you for your performance.”

The room emptied - the girls passing Seulgi some concerned looks - and the dancer’s stomach dropped.

_Why did they need to talk to her alone?_

When the last person left and shut the door, leaving just Seulgi, Irene and her manager, Irene spoke up. 

“I don’t like it.”

It was a matter of fact and Seulgi saw it coming, but it still made her feel like crawling into a hole and dying. 

Seulgi just nodded and scratched the nape of her neck, a nervous habit. “I could tell.” She bit back a frown, looking down at her feet. “Thank you for this opportunity, anyway. It was an honour to even dance for you.”

Irene stood up and walked towards Seulgi, placing a finger under her chin, forcing the choreographer to look straight into the Idol’s eyes.

They were sparkling with kindness and patience, and _god_, she was so pretty. 

“Hey,” Irene said, with a small smile, dropping her hand as soon as Seulgi held her gaze. “Don’t feel bad. I want to give you a second chance.”

Seulgi was blushing already because of how close they were standing and the fact that Irene _touched her face_. But _that_ made her turn even more red. 

“You do? But you… hated it!”

Irene rolled her eyes, but not unkindly. 

“I didn’t _hate _it. I just didn’t think it suited the song,” she explained. “Look, for this comeback I wanted to try something new. I can tell that you’re familiar with my other singles - you incorporated a lot of the same pop styles and I admire your attention to detail.

“But _Sunny Side Up!_ isn’t pop. It’s cool; it’s got a groove. What you showed me today is..._boring_. Pedestrian.”

That stung. Seulgi couldn’t help herself. 

“Ouch.”

Irene gently laughed and placed both hands on Seulgi’s shoulders, in a comforting manner.

“Seulgi-ssi, I watched _dozens_ of audition tapes and dance reels before I saw yours. Your tape was the only one that _inspired _me. You have this effortlessly cool way about you when you dance - which is honestly surprising, because in person, you’re kind of an adorable dork.”

Seulgi blushed again; it was a concern that all of the blood in her body seemed to be rushing to her face because of Irene. 

“I want to make a _statement_, Seulgi. This song is about...expressing who I am. Who I _really_ am, not the bubblegum pop singer my agency wants me to be. You know what I mean?”

“Uh...yeah?” She didn’t. 

“Find something in you that connects with the song and go from there. I trust you; you’re talented. Don’t second guess yourself. Okay?”

Seulgi didn’t want to disappoint her. Not when she was looking at her with such a kind expression. Not when working with her was a _dream_. Irene could’ve walked away immediately but she was giving her a chance. 

So Seulgi swallowed her pride and her embarrassment from before and nodded.

“Okay. I’ll make you proud. You’re going to _love _what I come up with next.” 

-

The next two days were spent working nearly non-stop on new choreography. This time, instead of listening to other people or focusing on who Irene _was,_ she took what Irene said to heart. Before she spent a lot of time trying to guess what Irene wanted. But for this version, she decided to choreograph it as if it was for _her. _If Irene liked her style, then she’d give her something that was 100% Seulgi. 

She was about 10% less dorky when Irene and her manager showed up. She thought she looked cool Irene greeted her with a bow and a handshake; and it would’ve been _fine_, if her assistants were cool about it.

(This time it was Donghyuck who yelled out ‘_Pabo!’ _as Seulgi’s giggled at Irene’s formal gesture.)

This time it was just Seulgi and Chaeyeon in the studio room with Irene and her manager at the front. 

“Just two dancers?” Irene asked, as she took her seat. “Me and a girl?” 

Seulgi cleared her throat.

“You wanted something that suited the song. So this version is raw and sensual. And daring. You said to find something about the song that I connect with. And I can’t exactly...connect with men. So I’m dancing with Chaeyeon today.”

“Gross, please don’t connect with me,” Chaeyeon interjected, with a fake scowl. 

“Ugh, you wish,” Seulgi teased back, which made Irene burst out laughing.

“Okay, are you ready?” Irene asked, with an excited grin.

“Yes!” Seulgi gave the cue to Donghyuck to begin the song and he hit play.

Once again, the music started and Irene’s gorgeous voice filled the room. 

‘_Sunny side up! _

_Sunny side up-up!’_

This time Seulgi was _really _confident and ready. She wasn’t faking it. She created something that she was excited to dance. 

And she danced. She let herself move to the music, closing her eyes and moving in sync with Chaeyeon. She didn’t hold back her power - she popped and grooved with the music. Her body moved, almost reflexively to the cool melody that was being overlaid with Irene’s sweet but warm vocals.

When Chaeyeon moved to her for the bridge - where Seulgi’s hands splayed over her fellow dancer’s body in a sensual, teasing way, Irene leaned forward like she did last time, but her eyes bored into her movements even more. 

The last moment of the song rang out in the room, with Seulgi and Chaeyeon standing coolly in their ending pose. As Irene, Seulgi stood with both hands on her hips, her head tilted up, looking almost cool with rebellion, with Chaeyeon’s arm slung around her shoulders. 

For a beat the only sound in the room came from the dancers, who were panting from the elaborate routine.

Then came Irene’s excited applause. 

“Wow.”

“Yeah?” Seulgi asked, hopefully.

“That was so hot.”

Her manager cleared his throat. “What Irene means to say is that we’re really impressed.”

“Yeah?!”

“It is _exactly_ what I wanted - better even!” Irene gushed. 

Seulgi was excited. So excited that she dorkily pounded her fist in the air in victory and let out a _highly_ undignified “YAY!” She wasn’t even embarrassed when Irene and her manager laughed at her reaction. 

“Seulgi-ssi, that was great - let me just connect with the rest of our team right now to get you at our studios for rehearsals,” Irene’s manager said, before getting on the phone and excusing himself. 

“That was amazing,” Irene repeated, as he left the room. “Show me the bridge again? I’m so glad you kept it from before.” 

Fortunately Chaeyeon hadn’t left the room yet, so Seulgi and her seamlessly flowed into the steps.

“This part?” 

“Yes, that!” Irene stood up. “Teach me. I’m a quick learner.” 

“Uh… Okay. Do you want to watch me do it one more time with Chaeyeon or are you good to try?”

“I’ll just give it a shot, if that’s okay with Chaeyeon-ssi.”

“Absolutely! Please, dance with Seulgi-_unnie_ and make her dreams come true.”

“_Aish!_ You and Donghyuck can go now.” 

Her assistants snickered as they left the room, leaving just Seulgi and her absolute favourite Idol alone in the room. Not that Seulgi wasn’t suddenly nervous.

Absolutely not. 

“Uh, so you’d start here, and I would stand behind you, like this. And I’ll just,” Seulgi hovered her hands over Irene’s body, then moved them up slowly, conscious to not touch Irene. “While you do the opposite with your own hands.”

Irene laughed and followed Seulgi’s shy instructions. She wasn’t lying when she said she was a fast learner. 

“Okay, but how about if we tried it like this?” Irene said, before reaching behind her and guiding Seulgi’s hips against her backside. 

Seulgi couldn’t help the shaky breath that she let out.

“Uh, yeah. That’d...that’d be good…” Seulgi said, nervously.

“And don’t be shy, Seulgi-ssi.” Irene took her hands and placed them confidently on her stomach and chest, just _centimetres_ above her breasts. “See?” she said, nodding towards the mirror. “We look so much better with you touching me like this, right?” 

Seulgi swallowed and nodded, catching Irene’s stare in the mirror. 

“Yeah, uh, it looks, uh, cool.” Seulgi gulped, as she pushed her hands down Irene’s sides, watching closely as Irene mirrored her movements up her own chest. 

Like a perfect yin and yang, the two’s hands moved in beautiful complementary yet contrasting motions. Irene’s adjustments made it look even more mesmerizing. 

And that really should’ve been what Seulgi focused on. Any changes made to her choreography, for the better, should be noted. But with her hands on Irene’s body and Irene’s stare, now looking back up at her, she lost all ability to think. 

And for a brief, foolish second Seulgi thought that maybe Irene’s eyes flitted down to her lips, like she wanted to kiss them. 

But before she could even find out, a throat clearing itself interrupted them. 

“Irene? Seulgi-ssi?” Irene’s manager asked, sheepishly. His eyes avoided looking at them, as though the ceiling had something fascinating above it.

Seulgi could not have let go of Irene fast enough. She quickly stepped away from her and wrapped her arms around herself, tapping her foot like he absolutely didn’t walk in the room while _something_ was happening, no sir, nothing at all.

(Also, _what the hell just happened?!)_

Interestingly enough, when looked at Irene, she was just pouting - almost glaring at her manager, like she was annoyed with him. 

“What?” Irene asked, impatiently. 

“Well, I just heard back from the A&R team; they’re excited to see the routine. We’ll have Seulgi-ssi come to SM for the next few weeks to teach you and your co-dancer the choreography and I’m sure they’ll have more feedback then.”

“More?” Irene questioned.

Seulgi noticed that her manager looked nervous under Irene’s gaze, which she could _definitely_ relate to. 

“Well, yes. I described the performance, and they requested that Seulgi-ssi stage it for Irene...and a man.” 

“Seriously?”

“Irene, you _know_ they’d push back if you were too _blatant_.”

Irene rolled her eyes, and Seulgi just kept darting her eyes back and forth between the Idol and her manager. 

Blatant? What was too blatant? 

“So? I thought we agreed that with this next comeback, that I’d finally be _myself_.”

“Within the boundaries of their contract, yes.”

“So I can’t even dance with another woman?” she asked, exasperatedly. 

Wait...what?! 

What did having to dance with a woman…

...what?! 

“We can discuss this later, _privately_,” he said, for the first time using a stern voice. Irene just rolled her eyes in response.

“_Fine_.”

“Uh,” Seulgi said. “So I’ll just...stage this for a male dancer then? Can I make a recommendation? I know a few great male dancers who I think would be good for this style.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Irene said dismissively. She was still glaring at her manager.

“Have him ready by next week and we’ll begin rehearsals then,” he said. To his credit, he only slightly flinched. 

Seulgi had to admire him. If Irene was looking at _Seulgi_ like that, she would’ve already been dead. 

Then like a flip was switched, Irene’s honey-gaze was directed to Seulgi. With a smile and a casual hand to her arm - which, Seulgi noted, was _so_ soft - Irene wished her goodbye. 

“I’ll see you soon, Seulgi-ssi. I look forward to working with you.” 

After Irene and her manager left, Donghyuck and Chaeyeon slinked up next to Seulgi. 

“Uh, so, is she gay? Because it seems like she wants to bang you.” Chaeyeon asked, her crass question making Donghyuck burst out laughing. 

“What?!? No. Impossible.”

“Dude, she was eyefucking you the entire time. I thought she was going to push me out of the way as soon as I touched you.”

“Not to mention how she said goodbye to you. Heart eyes, _noona_, heart eyes.”

“I don’t know what you two are talking about. Now let’s just figure out my schedule for next week - ‘cause they want me at SM to work with her!”

-

The weeks of rehearsals went well. Irene was a fast learner, which made Seulgi’s job easy. And they hadn’t had encounters like the one they had before - where Irene and her had a _moment_ \- so in terms of Seulgi’s mental health, she was fine.

It actually had been going so normally that Seulgi thought that she probably misread the situation with Irene before. It was definitely more likely that she was just being friendly than Irene possibly, maybe flirting with her. 

That said though, when she recommended her friend Kai be Irene’s dance partner, she had an ulterior motive. Sure, he was talented and a fast learner but also taken and _so_ whipped for his girlfriend, so she knew he wouldn’t do anything untoward to Irene. 

Interestingly enough, even if he wanted to flirt with Irene, she didn’t pay him much attention. Irene didn’t even seem interested in him unless they were dancing. She wasn’t rude to him at all, but she was strictly professional around him. She didn’t seem to go out of her way to talk to him. In contrast, while Seulgi taught them the choreography, she found her to be surprisingly sweet and personable to her. 

In fact, Irene always seemed to initiate skinship with her or even sit close to her, just to chat. As far as fanservice went, it was kind of amazing. 

“So why did you become a dancer?” Irene asked her during lunch one day. Kai had left the building for a bit to meet up with his girlfriend, leaving the two alone to eat together. They found themselves at the SM Restaurant in a private room. 

“I always loved it,” Seulgi explained. “I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t dancing. I just love expressing myself this way.” 

“You’re beautiful enough that you could’ve been an Idol.” Irene laughed when Seulgi looked down bashfully. “What? It’s true. And I heard you singing along to the song earlier, you’re naturally talented.”

“Thank you. I just prefer to be behind the scenes,” Seulgi said, coyly.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t know if I’d be able to live with all the scrutiny and rules. Like the dating ban…”

Irene laughed. “That’s not really a rule though.”

“No?” 

“Nope. If I wanted to, I could date any man, I’d just need to keep it a secret,” Irene said, scrunching up her nose.

“See and that’s where I’d have a problem,” Seulgi took a breath then revealed her ‘not secret-secret’ to Irene.” I wouldn’t be interested in dating _men_.”

To Irene’s credit and Seulgi’s relief, her expression didn’t change for the worse, like Seulgi had often experienced when coming out to people. She just nodded understandably. 

“I see.”

“Yep. So that’s why working behind-the-scenes is best for me.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you would’ve been a great Idol. You’re sweet and talented; lots of kids would be better off admiring a person like you.”

“Thank you, Irene-nim,” Seulgi said, sincerely. But then she couldn’t help but add, as a joke, “An admired Idol, but a celibate Idol.” 

Irene shook her head. “That’s not always the case. There are gay Idols out there; they may not be open about it, but they exist. But people have the right to their privacy and their own secrets.”

“But I’d totally give myself away if I were a celebrity. My friends say I have a hard time functioning like a human being around women I find attractive,” Seulgi said, with a blush. “I like, trip over my feet and turn red, I lose all of my charm.” 

“Should I be offended that you seem to be doing just fine with me?” Irene pouted. 

“What? No!” Seulgi shook her head, reaching forward for Irene’s hands to reassure her. “I was a mess when we first met, I was always a huge fan and then to see you in person?! And even now I’m still - wait, uh, no, not that I’m attracted to you - I mean, you are _very_ attractive, don’t misunderstand me, I just meant that you’re really-” 

Irene’s frown slowly flipped into a cheeky grin as Seulgi floundered.

“_Ya_!” Seulgi lightly slapped Irene’s hands and then pulled her own away. “That was mean!”

Irene laughed as Seulgi covered her face, totally mortified.

“What? I’m glad to know you think I’m attractive; my self-esteem would’ve been destroyed.”

Seulgi just rolled her eyes. 

“You’re lucky I’m still here and I didn’t run out because I was so embarrassed, Irene-_nim_.”

“Aww, don’t be!” Irene said. “And you don’t need to call me ‘Irene-_nim’ -_ be comfortable around me, Seulgi. You can call me _Joohyun-unnie_, if that helps.”

“Okay...Joohyun-_unnie_.” 

“See, and it sounds great coming from you,” Irene said. Then she did a _terrible_ impersonation of Seulgi’s voice. “_‘Joohyun-_unnie _is very attractive_.’ See, it sounds much better than _‘Irene-_nim’.”

“_Unnie!” _Seulgi whined. 

(Although, to be perfectly honest, she was thrilled that Irene told her to call her by her real name instead of her stage name. She couldn’t wait to brag to her friends about it later.)

-

Seulgi’s friendship with Irene - _Joohyun_ \- progressed pretty normally until the day of the video shoot. 

That day, a few things made Seulgi’s gaydar beep.

First thing - Seulgi didn’t need to be there at all. Joohyun and Kai had all the choreography down perfectly and she knew that SM probably didn’t want to pay her for her time there. But Joohyun wanted her there. In fact, she even lied to her manager and said she didn’t have the moves down perfectly and _demanded_ that Seulgi come to shooting.

That led to a few...interesting moments in Joohyun’s dressing room, between the various takes. 

(For example, _this_ moment happened earlier in the day: 

“Do I have this part down?” Irene asked, as she immediately started dancing with Seulgi without warning, running her hands up and down Seulgi’s sides. 

Seulgi tried not to appear as shocked as she felt.

The next words were spoken softly into Seulgi’s ear, her breath warm and giving her shivers that went straight to her core. 

“I prefer your body over his. His is traditionally nice, I suppose, but _god_, Seulgi,” she said, her lips tracing her ear with ever word, “Your skin is so soft but you’re so well-toned. Your body feels amazing...”

Seulgi gulped. _Surely _Joohyun had no idea what she was saying.

“Thank you, Joohyun-_unnie_.” It was all Seulgi could muster as the Idol gave up all pretenses of dancing to wrap her arms around the dancer. 

“God, I wish you were dancing with me instead of him. He’s a great dancer, but this just feels _so_ much better.”

...One could imagine the confusion that brought on for poor Seulgi.)

The second thing happened much later in the day after Irene’s solo shots were complete. She spent the morning and afternoon filming by herself and finally was about to start the dance scenes. They were all waiting for her to finish wardrobe and for Kai to show up.

That’s when Irene walked out in her dance performance outfit. 

Joohyun was wearing a short black dress with an elaborate gold floral pattern. Her hair was pulled up in a sophisticated bun, allowing her beautiful milky white shoulders and collarbones to be exposed. She looked so goddamn radiant, that it made Seulgi’s heart skip a beat. 

Seulgi wondered if she would claim this as a workplace hazard. When the singer entered the room where her big dance performance would be filmed, the choreographer thought she was going to pass out.

Seriously; if something were to happen, she hoped her insurance would cover it.

(Cause of heart attack: a beautiful woman.)

Seulgi was about to approach Joohyun, who had just spotted her and grinned so widely that Seulgi is pretty sure it could’ve replaced the sun, when a production assistant came out, looking nervous.

She exchanged a few tense words with Joohyun, her manager and the music video director; Seulgi walked up a little closer to hear the bad news - but not so near that they seemed to notice her presence. 

“He broke his leg,” the P.A. said, looking nervously between the three people in charge. “Kai, the dancer today. He broke his leg, he can’t come.”

“How did he break his leg?!” Her manager asked, angrily.

She explained. “He went skiing yesterday.”

“Skiing?!” He yelled.

“Yes.” The poor P.A. cowered a little; Seulgi felt bad for her. It’s not like it was her fault that her idiot friend Kai liked winter sports and always tried new tricks, like he was some sort of Olympic athlete. 

_Pfft_. Damn it, Kai. 

The video director looked worried. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to find someone who’ll be able to do this-”

Joohyun interrupted. “Then don’t; Seulgi can do it.”

“She can?!” Her manager asked.

_What?!? No I can’t! _Seulgi thought, nervously. 

The Idol rolled her eyes, impatiently. 

“Yes. She can. It’ll be cool. Like when Sunmi performed _Gashina _with only women.”

“With all due respect though, this is a _music video_, not a one-off performance. And this choreography is much more risque than _Gashina_,” the director said, sensing her manager’s tension. 

“So?”

This time, with her hands on her hips, looking _way_ too scary for a person who was barely 157 cm, Seulgi could see the resolve in her manager and the director completely disappear. Joohyun had an uncanny way of making everyone feel like she was in charge, even if she wasn’t. It was kind of exciting to watch. 

The director looked a little nervous for a moment then nodded his head. 

“I’ll go inform wardrobe and hair & make-up of the potential change then,” he said, before scampering away from Joohyun’s glare.

“I don’t want people to start rumours about you,” her manager said, in a low voice that only Joohyun could hear. 

(Of course, Seulgi could hear it all.)

“They’re not really rumours if they’re true,” Joohyun answered, defiantly. 

_Wait, what?_

Seulgi was confused. Was Joohyun...

“Irene, we’ve talked about this,” he said, almost whining. 

“My god, it’s _one_ music video, it’s not like I’m coming out on television,” Joohyun argued. 

_Holy shit._ She was _gay_?!

“_Fine_. Let me call the agency,” her manager said, his tone resigned. Seulgi’s head was going into a tailspin - so _of course_ that’s when she was called out. “In the meantime, Seulgi-_ssi_, please come out from behind that camera and go with Irene to wardrobe.”

“Oh, _there_ you are,” Joohyun said. Before Seulgi even had the chance to react, she was being pulled by Joohyun to the dressing room.

To be dressed and made up.

For a music video.

That she wasn’t even supposed to be in.

With an incredibly beautiful and talented woman. 

Who was gay?!

Seulgi felt her brain short circuit, and this time it wasn’t even because Joohyun’s hand was holding hers (although that certainly didn’t help).

“So I guess you heard it all,” Joohyun said, casually. Annoyingly casually, because Seulgi felt like a bomb just dropped. 

“Wait, _unnie_,” Seulgi said, stopping her before they entered the dressing room. “So you’re…”

“Very gay, yes, but we don’t have time for this,” Joohyun said, dismissively, like it was old news (uh, it _definitely_ wasn’t!!!). “You need to get into wardrobe and get your hair and makeup done.”

“But you never said!” Seulgi argued. This was _kind of_ big news to just spring on her!

“You never asked!” Joohyun argued back.

“Why would I ask?” Seulgi asked, so confused by Joohyun’s reaction.

“Are you _kidding_ me?!” Joohyun’s eyes were widened, exasperated. “I have been flirting with you _this whole time_!”

For about five whole seconds, Seulgi was dead silent, trying to register what Irene said to her. 

What?!?! 

No…

“Huh?” It was all Seulgi could say in response. 

Then something happened that made Seulgi’s entire world turn upside down, but hell, if that’s how she would live for the rest of her life, she supposed being upside down wasn’t a bad thing. 

Because Joohyun, her expression full of impatience but also a touch of affection, took Seulgi’s face in her hands, stood up on her toes and then kissed Seulgi. 

On the lips. 

_On purpose_. 

And Seulgi just thanked whatever deity had blessed her these past few days, because she found the wherewithal to kiss her back. Joohyun’s lips were _so_ soft and pillowy. Seulgi opened her mouth a little and traced her tongue over Joohyun’s bottom lip as she reached up to clutch the woman’s gorgeous shoulders. And she was rewarded with the most _delicious_ sounding whimper she’d ever heard in her life when she did.

Joohyun was an amazing rapper, singer, dancer, model and actress - but Seulgi was about 100% certain her biggest talent was kissing, because _holy shit._ Which Seulgi accidentally said out loud, as Irene pulled away, both of them panting with big grins on their faces. 

“You know what?” Joohyun asked, toying her nose against Seulgi’s. “Do a good job tonight and I’ll even let you take me on a date.”

-

The video shoot went well, considering a few impediments to success that Seulgi had to compete with the whole time.

First one was all the faces watching them dance the whole time. Kind of awkward watching so many people (mostly men, much to Seulgi’s chagrin) watch then dance so intimately. 

Second was Joohyun herself, who kept making subtle changes to the choreography, touching Seulgi’s face or caressing her stomach, or even arching against her _just so_. No take was the same, so Seulgi was kept on her toes the whole time.

And that led to the biggest impediment that made the shoot difficult: Seulgi’s hormones. 

She was _only_ human. And Joohyun, it turned out, was a damn _tease_.

Not that Seulgi was complaining. Not at all. 

Fortunately, the end of the shoot finally came, about 900 takes later (probably less than, but Seulgi felt like it had simultaneously gone on forever and taken no time at all).

But that’s when Seulgi’s life when from good to _incredible_, because as everyone applauded Joohyun, Seulgi and the crew for all of their hard work, the Idol leaned in to whisper in her ear. 

“Screw the date. Come home with me tonight?”

And that’s how Seulgi found herself at Joohyun’s apartment in the _UN Village_. And she would’ve made a note of how it looked, if it not for Joohyun’s incredibly talented lips against her neck and her lithe body, which was pushing her against a dresser in her bedroom.

Oh _god_ this was happening. 

“I had a crush on you the moment I met you, Seulgi,” Joohyun said, in between kisses.

“Me? Really?” Seulgi asked, breaking their kiss. 

“Yes. Are you joking?” Joohyun briefly brought their lips back together, before releasing them once more. “You were so cute when you thought I didn’t want to work with you anymore, I just _hoped_ you were gay. Thank god I usually get what I want.” 

“I don’t even know how to respond to that. _You_ wanted _me_. What world are we living in?”

“Right now, we’re living in a world where I’m about thirty seconds away from taking off all your clothes, then my clothes, then laying you on my bed and having my way with you. Are you okay with that? Do you want this too?”

“Yes please,” Seulgi said, not even a little embarrassed that her voice cracked. 

“Good.” 

And she kissed her, once again. It was a kind of _incredible_ torture, to be kissed so fully, so slowly by Joohyun. Their lips fit together perfectly as Seulgi licked into her mouth, only pulling away to have Joohyun lightly tuck on Seulgi’s bottom lip with her teeth. 

Joohyun set an incredible pace that completely disarmed Seulgi, as she felt Joohyun skillfully unbutton her plaid shirt and push it off her shoulders.

“Good, your body is amazing,” Joohyun whispered, running her fingers up Seulgi’s abs and tracing them to her back, to undo her bra strap. Before she did though, she paused.

“Is this okay, baby?”

Seulgi shivered at the nickname and eagerly nodded. 

“Yes, please. Just take yours off too.” 

Then her bra was off, and Joohyun’s top and own bra joined it on the floor. Before Seulgi could even voice her appreciation for her _incredible_ body, she felt the back of her knees hit the bed. She sat down, bringing Joohyun down with her, grabbing her ass and lifting her to straddle her. She kept running her hands up and down her legs as they continued to explore each other’s mouths, all teeth and tongues and desperate lips. 

Soon Joohyun pushed Seulgi back so she was lying on her bed. She slipped her clothed leg between Seulgi’s own. The two women began to frantically rock against each other. The incessant throb between Seulgi’s legs had only magnified at the motion as she desperately moaned into her lover’s mouth. 

This felt incredible, but she needed more. She needed to feel Joohyun fall apart under her (and over her, and next to her - however she wanted). 

Seulgi gently flipped them over and sat up, looking down at Joohyun in awe.

There was this woman, who she’d gotten to know as not just a talented singer, but also a woman who was determined, hardworking, funny, sweet and _everything_ she’d been looking for. And she was looking up at Seulgi with beautiful pink swollen lips, tousled hair and _completely_ topless.

Seulgi was a lucky woman. 

So she was going to pay back this amazing gift by giving Joohyun the best orgasm of her life.

Obviously. 

She leaned down and captured her lips again, which Joohyun hungrily returned. Then she slowly brought her hand to the button of Joohyun’s jeans. 

“Can I?” she asked. 

This time it was Joohyun who eagerly nodded, before reaching down herself to remove her jeans, along with her underwear. While she removed her own jeans, Seulgi made quick work of hers, kicking them and her panties off. 

When she saw Joohyun sprawled on the bed naked, with sexy hooded doe eyes, looking up at her _like that_, Seulgi couldn’t even help it. 

“Damn it, you’re so fucking sexy, Joohyun.”

“And here I was thinking that about _you_, Seulgi-ya,” Joohyun answered, almost shyly. 

It was the nickname that was Seulgi’s complete undoing. 

She recaptured her lips and laid her body on Joohyun’s. The sensation of feeling all of her skin - lips on lips, breasts on breasts, centres flush against another - spurred her into action. She kissed and licked her way down, careful not to mark Joohyun’s neck, before reaching her breasts. She took her stiff nipple into her mouth and rolled it against her lips and tongue. As Joohyun shuddered below her, she continued her movements, reaching up with her hand to mimic the movements with her fingers on her other breast. When she felt she’d paid enough attention to one breast, she switched to the other. 

Joohyun let out beautiful gasps and moans with every nip and swirl from Seulgi’s lips and tongue, encouraging the dancer to continue. As Seulgi continued to lick and nip at her nipples, Joohyun guided Seulgi’s hips down so she could press her centre against Seulgi’s thigh, which had found its way between her legs.

And _oh god_.

“_Fuck_, I can feel how wet you are,” Seulgi said, in awe.

In response, Joohyun let out a keening moan, one that started a fire within Seulgi. 

She wanted to make this last with Joohyun. She didn’t know if this would happen again, so she wanted Joohyun to remember this night

With one last swirl of her tongue to Joohyun’s nipple, she started her descent. She kissed her way down Joohyun’s stomach, grinning to herself as the woman’s breath started to get shakier. She licked the subtle valleys of her abs as her mouth mapped her way along her body, tracing her navel with tongue. All the while Joohyun was writhing and moaning below her.

She was a professional dancer, but nothing had made Seulgi’s body move more deliberately than the captivating sounds of Joohyun as she let herself give into pleasure.

With all the teasing that Seulgi was giving her, it didn’t surprise her when she felt Joohyun’s small yet strong hands reach down into her hair, encouraging her lower. And really, who was Seulgi to deny her? 

She held in a gasp when she reached her centre. It was fucking _gorgeous_. She could see how wet she was, how ready she was, and Seulgi _had_ to have a taste. She leaned forward and took her cunt into her mouth, sweeping her tongue up Joohyun’s _weeping_ lips. She was so wet and tasted _so_ good - musky, sharp, and sweet. She could _easily _become addicted to her. 

And to top it off, Joohyun was _so_ responsive. She moaned and gasped as soon as Seulgi started and her moans only became more pronounced as Seulgi’s tongue started to move more deliberately against her clit.

Then Seulgi gently, slowly slipped a finger, and then two, into her.

And if she thought Joohyun was loud before, she was wrong.

With every pulse of her fingers curling inside her, finding the sweet spots within her, and every flick of her tongue against her clit, Joohyun’s body pulsed against her. It was like sweet waves underneath Seulgi. She looked up and saw Joohyun’s eyes fluttering shut, like she wanted to keep them open to watch Seulgi, but the pleasure was just too much. When their eyes finally did meet, Joohyun gasped. And then she screwed her eyes shut completely. 

She came in a loud, beautiful symphony of moans. Her body rolled against her as it bowed off the bed. Seulgi continued to pleasure her, to extend her orgasm, as Joohyun let out cry after cry. She was so tight against her fingers as she came that Seulgi could no longer thrust her fingers into her, so she continued to tap her fingers up against Joohyun’s g-spot, giving her more pleasure.

Watching her orgasm only heightened Seulgi’s arousal even more. She squeezed her legs together to alleviate the growing excitement in her. 

But her feelings did not lessen at all. She gently slipped her fingers out of her lover’s body - earning a shudder from the woman beneath her - she licked her fingers into her mouth. Even the taste of her on her fingers made her centre throb, and she hadn’t been touched yet.

All day had been an exercise in foreplay, and watching Joohyun come as hard as she did only made Seulgi feel more on edge. 

“_Fuck_, Seulgi-ya,” Joohyun whined. She pulled Seulgi up and brought her mouth to hers, immediately licking into her to taste herself against her tongue. It was vulgar and _so_ sexy, Seulgi let out a little moan as she did it. 

Then, displaying a surprising amount of strength, she pushed Seulgi over.

“I want to taste you right now. We have time to make love later, I promise, baby, but right now, can I just eat you out?” 

Seulgi nodded quickly, making a mental note to figure out what she meant by ‘later’, and then Joohyun made good of her request.

Joohyun groaned as she hungrily swept her tongue through Seulgi’s folds, making the dancer cry out beneath her. Add this to the list of things Joohyun was good at, because she was eating her out like a fucking champion. 

Joohyun pressed her wet mouth to Seulgi’s cunt and gave her sweeping, devouring kisses. Her mouth and tongue massaged so much of her pussy at once, like she was trying to discover and taste as much of Seulgi all at once. The sensation made Seulgi shake - Joohyun was pleasuring parts of the dancer that had never been explored before. 

Seulgi knew she was yelling out too loud, but she didn’t care. Not when Joohyun’s tongue rippled against her clit, deliciously circling her bundle of nerves. Then her tongue was suddenly firm and taut and pushing its way inside of her, thrusting deeply within her. She alternated between the two movements, curling inside her and then licking her clit. Joohyun’s tongue was giving her _unimaginable _pleasure. It had never felt this good before.

Then suddenly, Joohyun’s movements became more focused. Her tongue began to pulse against her clit, flicking it with so much intensity and then suddenly, Seulgi’s hips were off the bed and she was coming, loud and hard, her fingers tight against Joohyun’s head, keeping her in place.

She didn’t seem to want to let up though, because as Seulgi continued to moan, the feelings of absolute bliss rolling over her in waves, Joohyun’s mouth didn’t stop - in fact - Seulgi let out a yell of surprise when Joohyun slipped two fingers into her and began pistoning them within her, curling her fingers against the spot inside her that made her cry out every time it was hit. Joohyun kept up a frenzied pace and Seulgi was powerless. 

She had no control of her body as her hips moved with every thrust, as her hands laced their way through Joohyun’s hair, as she cried out, moaned and whimpered. 

Her body, having not yet recovered from her previous orgasm, let go again. She came and this time instead of rolling waves, the pleasure crashed into her, like fireworks or like a rollercoaster. She cried out as her orgasm continued, and Joohyun didn’t let up her skillful mouth or fingers until Seulgi pulled away.

“_Please_, no more, I _can’t_ again,” Seulgi weakly whined. She was entirely spent and it was all thanks to this incredible, firecracker of a woman. 

Joohyun grinned, and she grinned even harder when Seulgi shook as she removed her fingers. With a final swipe of her tongue against her folds, she kissed her way up Seulgi’s body to her destination - Seulgi’s waiting lips.

Joohyun laid flat on Seulgi’s body, their legs intertwined and her head tucked into Seulgi’s neck.

The dancer wrapped her arms around her, completely satisfied. 

“Can I keep you?” Joohyun asked, sleepily.

“Keep me?” 

“We’re technically done working together but maybe we can just...continue to spend time together?”

“Are you asking if we could date?”

“Obviously.” Joohyun lifted her head up for a moment, just to press a kiss to Seulgi’s lips. 

She could get used to this. 

“I thought this might have been a one-night stand,” Seulgi admitted.

“No, god no. I have a crush on you, remember?” Joohyun asked. “It isn’t for me; I hope it isn’t for you.”

That was the first time Seulgi had ever heard Joohyun sound uncertain, which was so out of character for what she knew of the confident, self-assured, sexy woman. 

Seulgi tightened her embrace.

“It’s not a one-night thing for me, Joohyunnie…”

“Good.” She leaned down and brought her lips to her own for a gentle, soft kiss. She pulled away then grinned down at the dancer. “I forgot to tell you - good job today, Seulgi-ya.”

“The music video or the sex?” Seulgi was half-joking, half-serious.

Without missing a beat, Joohyun answered.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


	3. As long as you love me so (Christmas AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title from: Let It Show by Carly Rae Jepsen  
Warning: Lots of western Christmas traditions in this one. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ And LOTS of fluff. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Also this is unbeta’d! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Dedicated to @SeptemberLilies because she’s the real MVP! 

Growing up, Joohyun loved Christmas. 

The wonder of the day - giving and receiving gifts, spending time with her family, and doing fun things like going to amusement parks - made her Christmas memories even brighter. She loved everything - the snow on the ground, the beautiful lights and decorations, Santa and his reindeer, the sounds of Christmas music everywhere she went. 

Every Christmas morning, she’d wake up to a new surprise from Santa Claus. Of course, now she knew that it was her parents, but at the time it was _magical_.

However, the older she got, the less enamoured she was with the holiday.

Instead of the joy she got from opening presents, she felt pressure to find the perfect gifts. Instead of reveling in the Christmas decorations that covered Seoul, she felt overwhelmed by the crowds that gathered to see them. The redundant sounds of Christmas music everywhere she went became a nuisance rather than a delight. 

And this year, her usual celebrations were not going to be the same. Her sister just moved to Japan and opted to stay in Tokyo instead of coming back to Daegu for a few days. And with that, her parents decided to go on a trip for the holidays instead of hosting Joohyun. 

So for Joohyun, there was no going home to Daegu or sleeping in her childhood bed. No waking up to the smell of a delicious meal being prepared. No exchanging presents with her family. 

The only thing that made this Christmas better than her most recent ones was her girlfriend of nearly a year, Seulgi. 

Seulgi was the thing she was most grateful for this Christmas. Especially since while Joohyun was jaded by the holiday season, Seulgi was the opposite.

Her girlfriend, always so enthusiastic and sweet, still loved everything about the season. In the weeks prior to Christmas, Seulgi took her around Seoul to see the beautiful lights and decorations everywhere. She surprised Joohyun with little Santa-shaped treats whenever she packed her lunch for work. She hung mistletoe around the house and surprised her with kisses whenever Joohyun was caught under them. 

Being with Seulgi restored some of the magic that Christmas had lost for Joohyun.

Speaking of her girlfriend, Joohyun turned when she heard the front door open of their shared apartment. Seulgi walked inside, shaking the snow that had accumulated on her head onto the foyer floor. There had been a little dusting of snow outside that morning; it wasn’t going to stick, but it added nicely to the ambience of the Christmas season. 

Seulgi was quietly humming _Underneath The Tree_ by Kelly Clarkson, one of their favourite English Christmas songs. She held a large box against her and Joohyun could see her name written on the side in her mother’s handwriting. 

“A present for me?” Joohyun asked, walking over to give her girlfriend a quick kiss in greeting.

Seulgi gently shook the big box. 

“Not sure; it’s from your parents though,” she handed the box to Joohyun and took off her padded coat and scarf. “It’s a shame that we couldn’t visit them for Christmas…”

Joohyun hummed in agreement. “It’s fine though; they love you more than they love me, so it’s good for you three to spend some time apart.”

Seulgi laughed and followed Joohyun as she placed the box on the floor in the living room. 

“Do the honours? If there’s anything for me, I bet it’s bigger than what they got you!” Seulgi teased. 

Joohyun stuck her tongue out at Seulgi then ripped off the packing tape. Sure enough, inside were two gift-wrapped boxes. Joohyun wasn’t even surprised when she saw that Seulgi’s gift box _was_ in fact _slightly_ larger than hers; Joohyun jokingly glared at Seulgi. 

(In truth, she _loved_ how fond her parents were of her girlfriend.)

Underneath the boxes was a few random items and a note from her father on top. 

It read:

‘_Merry Christmas, to our sweet daughter and her love._

_You should be getting this box a few days before Christmas, while your mother and I are in Hawaii. We hope you two don’t miss us too much. We hope you enjoy these presents we chose for you - but don’t open them until Christmas! _

_Joohyun-ah, I packed a few of your childhood items that I thought you’d want. Your mother found some great things in our storage - it’s better to be enjoyed by you girls instead of a box in our storage! There is also a special box of gingerbread cookies that your mother made for Seulgi-ya. Please share them with our Joohyun-ah - we don’t want her to get too jealous! _

_We love you both! _

_Your father (and mother)’_

Joohyun smiled and pressed a kiss to Seulgi’s cheek, who read the letter from behind Joohyun’s shoulder. Seulgi grinned and placed both gifts under their make-shift Christmas tree (made from lights that were strung in the pattern of a tree on their living room wall). While she did that, Joohyun looked through the box. 

Inside were a few items she remembered from growing up in Daegu. A Christmas sweater from when she was a teenager (and it still fit!). Her Christmas stuffed animal - a bear was dressed in an elf costume. Her Mariah Carey Christmas CD. A Christmas ornament that she made when she was in elementary school. 

As Seulgi sat back on the couch, munching on her cookies, something else caught Joohyun’s attention. At the very bottom of the box was an envelope with ‘_Santa Claus’_ written by a _slightly_ familiar hand.

She picked it up and remembered it exactly - she wrote it when she was about eight years old. She wrote the letter at her desk one night, after she diligently (dorkily) finished her school readings (she didn’t have homework; she was just a keen young student and wanted to read ahead of the class). But for some reason or another, she never sent it out with the mail. She shoved it into her closet and all these years later it survived. 

“What’s that?” Seulgi asked, her mouth full of gingerbread. 

“A letter I wrote to Santa when I was a kid,” Joohyun answered, almost in awe. “Wanna open it?”

“Yes!” Seulgi enthusiastically pushed the tin of cookies off her lap, then tapped her thighs, indicating where Joohyun should sit. Joohyun happily took the seat and wrapped her arms around her. Seulgi pressed a kiss to Joohyun temple then opened the letter, but not before giggling at the drawings of candy canes and Christmas trees that little Joohyun drew on the envelope. She pulled out the letter and read out loud. 

_“‘Dear Santa Claus, I’m Joohyun. I am a good sister and a good student. I hope I’m on the nice list. For Christmas, I want,’ _Wow, Joohyun, you went straight to the point,” Seulgi teased, earning a swat on the arm from Joohyun, before continuing. “_‘I want to be a princess. And I want a Tamagotchi, a Yeopki Tokki toy, a Doraemon toy, a Lite Brite, an Easy Bake Oven and a Sailor Moon bed set. Right now, I have Dooly the Little Dinosaur on my blanket, but that’s for babies and I’m not a baby anymore. If you can’t get me any of those things, please just give me a tour of your Village in the North Pole. Thank you! From, Bae Joohyun.’” _

As soon as Seulgi finished reading the list, the two broke into giggles over the precocious letter. 

“Adorable, Joohyun-ah,” Seulgi said, cooing at her girlfriend’s cute list. “You were such a good writer when you were a kid, wow. You wrote better at 8 years old than most adults I know now. I mean, you were a little demanding but it was cute. A tour of Santa’s Village? _Omo_.”

“Ya! Don’t tease me, I was a child,” Joohyun defended, covering the blush that appeared on her cheeks. 

“I’m not teasing you, I’m serious! You were so cute, just like now!” Seulgi pressed a sloppy kiss on Joohyun’s cheek, making the woman’s blush go even deeper. “Did you get any of these things? Did you become a princess? And am I just unaware, Your Royal Highness?”

Joohyun rolled her eyes. 

“I _could_ get used to you calling me that, but unfortunately, I didn’t mail out my letter. But I should have; that year when I woke up, Santa got me _so many_ leopard print clothes. For a _child_!”

Seulgi laughed. “Your mom’s taste?”

“Yep. That’s when I stopped believing in Santa; no one but my mother would dress an 8-year-old in leopard print.”

“What a cute letter though,” Seulgi said, her eyes scanning the paper again. “It’s a really nice thing to have now as an adult, right?”

“It is, yeah.”

A suspicious glint appeared in Seulgi’s adorable crescent eyes, which always meant one of two things to Joohyun: Seulgi was about to tease her about something or Seulgi was _scheming_. And whenever Seulgi schemed, Joohyun had to brace herself. 

But the glimmer disappeared just as quickly as it came, and Seulgi pressed a kiss to Joohyun’s neck and tightened her hold around her. Joohyun reflexively leaned down and captured her girlfriend’s lips in a tender kiss.

Seulgi smiled against her lips and murmured happily. 

“There’s no mistletoe here though.”

“I don’t need mistletoe to kiss the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“That’s true; you’d need a mirror. Or a clone of yourself.”

“_Aigoo_, you’re so greasy.” 

“One of my many great qualities.” Seulgi searched her eyes for a moment, then asked. “How are you, by the way? I know that Christmas hasn’t been great for you this year. I know you miss your family.”

Joohyun sighed. “I still do; but I’m feeling better. The surprise from my parents helped. _You_ help. You make it all better.” 

“That’s what I’m trying. I just want to make all your bad days better and all your good days great.”

Joohyun’s heart gave a squeeze. Seulgi always had a way with words like that; she was so innocent and sincere that whenever she spoke like that, Joohyun felt it right at her core.

“Well then, you’re doing a great job, Seulgi-ya,” Joohyun whispered. “Just being with you is the best Christmas gift I could ask for this year.” 

“Yeah?” Seulgi smiled; she looked so proud. It was the sweet little things like that, that made Joohyun love Seulgi more and more every day. 

“Of course. If I wrote a wish list to Santa today, I’d just ask him for _you_.” 

And even though Joohyun felt a little silly saying such cheesy things, she didn’t mind when Seulgi’s already big smile lit up even more. Seulgi blushed at her honesty. 

“Well then, I’ll make your wish list come true; I’m not going anywhere, my love.” 

\--

In the days after receiving the box from her family, Joohyun noticed that Seulgi had been uncharacteristically secretive. She spent a lot of time on her computer or texting, and whenever Joohyun asked what it was about, Seulgi would distract her with vague answers and kisses (damn her kisses for being so effective).

So Joohyun shouldn’t have been surprised when, on Christmas morning, Seulgi’s sweet voice stirred her awake. 

_“Merry Christmas, Joohyun-ah.”_

The woman squinted her eyes open and was greeted by her girlfriend’s adorable face. 

“Merry Christmas,” Joohyun said, returning the greeting. She sat up and stifled her yawn and noticed that Seulgi was fully dressed already. “Why are you dressed? It’s not even 8 am yet, I can never convince you to get out of bed before 11 am on a holiday…”

Seulgi just smiled and shrugged. “Well, today is an important day, Princess Joohyun,” Seulgi said, affecting a British accent. “Today is Christmas!”

Joohyun quirked an eyebrow, confused by the accent. 

“Why are you talking like that?”

“I planned a special day for you as your Christmas gift,” Seulgi said, her voice returning to normal. She grinned even wider and she pulled something out of her back pocket. It was Joohyun’s wish list. “I’m not Santa but I’m still going to fulfill your wish list today. Starting by making you a princess!”

“What do you mean?” 

Seulgi just smiled. 

“Just get ready and meet me in the living room. I’ll tell you more when you’re ready. But we have to leave by 8:30, so you have to be quick!”

\--

“I feel a _little_ silly right now, Seulgi-ya,” Joohyun said, walking beside Seulgi, both of them in traditional _hwalots. _They were in _Gyeongbokgung_, and a photographer hired by Seulgi was following them around, getting them to pose for his camera. 

“Don’t, Joohyunnie,” Seulgi said, stopping to face Joohyun completely. “You look _stunning. _Regal. You should feel proud; I know I do, because I get to be seen with you.” 

“You two look _beautiful_,” he complimented, before snapping a picture of the two with the Palace in the background. “You look like a real princess, Joohyun-_sunbaenim_.”

“Don’t flirt with her, Jaemin,” Seulgi warned as the photographer just grinned sheepishly. 

“Sorry.” 

A little embarrassment aside, Joohyun _did_ felt glad to be wearing the beautiful (rented) gown at this ornate location. She kind of felt a little special. Not like a member of the Yi Dynasty, but like a modern royal. 

They posted for photos in different locations around the palace grounds. Jaemin directed them to pose comfortably with one another - which, of course, was easy for Joohyun. She loved having her arms around Seulgi and looking at her lovingly. And with Seulgi’s fun and easy-going personality, it was easy for her to get into the role of playing a dignified princess. It also didn’t hurt that Seulgi looked stunning in her own colourful _hwalot_.

And she had to admit; the romantic photos, along with the beautiful ambience, made the entire thing feel like it was an engagement photoshoot. The thought alone gave Joohyun a little surge of excitement. 

As they posed, a few tourists even asked if they could take their picture - in their minimal English, and the foreigners’ minimal Korean, the tourists managed to communicate that they thought Joohyun and Seulgi looked beautiful. When Joohyun told them (in the English she learned from Wendy, of course) that she and Seulgi were _together _\- not just friends - their excited and supportive gestures made Joohyun feel even happier.

She really did feel like an admired and respected princess. 

After about an hour with Jaemin, the two women were finished. After dropping off the _hwalots_ at the rental studio and changing back into their regular clothes, Seulgi turned to Joohyun with a shy look.

“I know it wasn’t real - I _did_ try to make you a real royal, but all of my emails to Buckingham Palace went ignored. But I thought maybe this was the next best thing…” 

Joohyun stopped Seulgi by cupping her cheek and bringing their lips together. 

“Seulgi, that was _perfect_. I felt like a princess - but the luckiest princess in the world, because I had you standing by my side.” 

Seulgi blushed. 

“Thank you.” 

“No, thank _you_. It was perfect.” 

“And the day isn’t even over. There’s more planned today, Princess Joohyun!” Seulgi said. “Are you ready for your next Christmas wish surprise?” 

-

When Seulgi pulled the car into the parking lot of the next location of her surprise, Joohyun was confused. They were at the Seoul Children’s Hospital. Seulgi reached into the backseat and pulled out a bag.

“This isn’t exactly a tiara, but it’ll help you today, Princess Joohyun.” 

She placed a Santa hat on Joohyun’s head and then put an identical one on her own head.

“What are we doing here?” Joohyun asked, laughing at the adorable hats.

“From what I understand, after my copious amounts of research - I just watched a few Meghan Markle interviews - the most important thing a princess does is help people,” Seulgi explained. “I’ve signed us up to volunteer at their Christmas party.”

“Really?!” Joohyun asked, excitedly. 

“Yes! Kids shouldn’t have to have a crummy Christmas - and we had great Christmas memories growing up. We should share that with all the kids and families here. They deserve one, after all.”

“Seulgi, you’re amazing.” 

“No, you are,” Seulgi said, full of sincerity. “This day is inspired by you, after all.”

Joohyun leaned over the gearshift and gave Seulgi a kiss. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Seulgi smiled at her and toyed her nose against hers, then pulled away. With a happy, childlike grin, she asked, “Can you help me grab the boxes in the trunk?”

They exited the car and Seulgi popped open the trunk door to their little car. Inside it was _packed_ with bins full of toys.

“Seulgi, what is this,” Joohyun said, in awe of all the gifts in front of her. There was a common theme in all of the gifts - a few Tamagotchi’s, a few Yeopki Tokki toys, a few Doraemon toys, a couple Lite Brites, an Easy Bake Oven and a few Sailor Moon bed sets. All of the things Joohyun asked for when she was a child. 

Seulgi grinned at Joohyun’s shocked face.

“I figured you didn't want these toys for yourself, but I still wanted to give them to you somehow. I couldn’t exactly afford _all_ of these though, so I asked a few of our friends - and your parents and sister - if they wanted to chip in. They really gave me a windfall! So we’re going to drop all these off right now for the kids in the cancer unit. Their Christmas party is starting soon, so let’s go!” 

-

It was one of the most incredible things she’d ever done. 

After adding their donations to the small pile of toys waiting for the children, the two were assigned duties as volunteers - Joohyun went to organize the Christmas cookies while Seulgi helped wrap the gifts. After their jobs were finished, with the party underway, the two went to spend time with the children. 

They just spent over an hour in the playroom, but it was enough time to be touched by the love that was felt there. The resilience of the children and their families to go through a difficult time - and to be forced to be in the hospital on Christmas day - made Joohyun and Seulgi feel like they had to work extra hard to make the day special for everyone. 

Joohyun was naturally drawn to the quiet children, who were all playing silently around the piles of books and cushions set up by the Christmas tree. Seulgi, on the other hand, was running around with the bigger kids who had more energy. 

While Seulgi was being tackled by a number of kids, Joohyun was in the middle of reading a book with a young patient named Lami. They were halfway through the book when they were interrupted by another patient. 

“Seulgi-_seonsaengnim_ said you were a princess, is that true?” the boy asked in a whisper, with wide eyes. 

“Dohyon, go away, Joohyun-_seonsaengnim _is reading to me!” Lami said, glaring at the boy. Still, Dohyon continued.

“What if Seulgi-_seonsaengnim _is telling the truth, Lami-_unnie_? What if she’s a princess?!”

Joohyun laughed as Lami looked up at her suspiciously from her lap. 

“Well. Are you?” Lami asked, her attention no longer on the book. 

“Maybe. Maybe I’m here on a secret mission and I can’t reveal to you my true identity. Maybe Seulgi-_seonsaengnim _is actually my bodyguard and I’ll have to fire her for revealing my secret,” Joohyun replied, coyly, her eyes twinkling a little as both kids’ mouths dropped in shock. “Maybe.”

“I _knew_ it!” Dohyon yelled, excitedly, earning a few curious looks - including a teasing smile from Seulgi from the other end of the room, who seemed to know what was going on. 

“_Shhh_, Dohyon! It’s a _secret!_” Lami scolded.

“Well,” Joohyun said, lowering her voice, “as a Princess, I would like to honour both of you - Sir Dohyon and Dame Lami - two of the bravest, strongest and most trustworthy members of my court. But I can only bestow these titles to you if I can trust you. Can I trust you two to keep this secret?”

The two children, with their rapt attention, nodded excitedly.

“Excellent!” Joohyun said. “Then I guess I won’t have to fire Seulgi, because she knew she could trust you.”

“Oh good,” Dohyon said, letting out a huff of relief. “I was worried. She’s a good bodyguard, _seonsaengnim._ A little silly, but she means well. She’s done a good job - you’re safe here!”

They looked over at where Seulgi was, and she was once again under a pile of kids, all of them demanding her attention in different ways. Joohyun laughed - Seulgi was always so good with kids and willing to make them happy.

She’d be a great mother one day.

The thought kind of startled her, but then she looked down at Lami on her lap and Dohyon, now cuddling up next to her, both of them expecting her to continue the story. That’s when she realized: she’d love to have kids with Seulgi one day.

And while she would’ve been terrified by that though with past girlfriends, with Seulgi it just felt _right_. 

(Later, when Seulgi approached Joohyun, she greeted the ‘princess’ with a reverential bow - which made Lami and Dohyon’s eyes light up with excitement.)

At the end of the party, with a commitment to continue to volunteer with the kids soon, the two women left. Joohyun couldn’t hold back her emotions. She pulled Seulgi into a hug in the parking lot and just kept the woman close. 

“I take it you had fun, Joohyunnie?” Seulgi said, with a little laugh. 

“Thank you for this, Seulgi,” Joohyun said. “You’re so amazing to have even thought of it.”

Seulgi held her just as tightly, also overwhelmed by what had just happened. 

“You inspired it all, my love. You’re the greatest woman I know; the greatest woman ever. I’m only great because you bring it out of me.”

“I don’t think that’s true. I wouldn’t love you as much as I do if it were.”

“I love you too,” Seulgi said, giving her a kiss. “Are you ready for our last stop?”

“There’s _more_?”

“Well, now we’re going home. But there _is_ something waiting for us there…” 

\--

“I’m going to go in first,” Seulgi said, stopping Joohyun with both hands on her shoulders as they reached their apartment’s door. “Turn around and only come in when I tell you to, okay? I just have a _little_ something I have to do inside first.”

“If you’re changing into a sexy Christmas outfit…”

Seulgi wiggled her eyebrows. “Would you be into that?”

Joohyun rolled her eyes and turned around, facing away from their door. 

“Just go inside, dork.” 

She heard Seulgi laugh to herself and unlock the door, before hearing the familiar sound of it opening and closing behind her. 

She impatiently tapped her foot, her hands on her hips, wondering what was taking so long. She couldn’t hear anything - no rustling or any suspicious noises, so she just sighed and looked down at her wristwatch.

It’d been about one minute.

She pouted. It felt like longer.

Then about forty-five seconds later, she jumped, feeling a hand on her shoulder. She screeched and turned around, seeing Wendy, Sooyoung and Yerim’s faces grinning at her.

She almost scolded them for scaring her but then she noticed their outfits.

Red and green elf outfits.

She burst out laughing.

“_Omo_, what are you guys wearing?!” Joohyun said, nearly cackling. Her three friends all reacted differently - Wendy just smiled kindly, Sooyoung bristled and Yerim had a scary twinkle in her eyes.

Pretty standard for them, actually. 

“We’re Santa’s elves! We are here on behalf of Santa Claus to spread Christmas cheer,” Wendy said, clearly having memorized a script.

“He has invited you to visit the North Pole,” Sooyoung continued. “But because he is busy today, he asked us if we could bring you.” 

“He uh...yeah. He’s uh friends with Seulgi?” Yerim stumbled, looking at Wendy and Sooyoung. The oldest one rolled her eyes and continued.

“Santa’s good friend Seulgi is waiting for you in Santa’s Village. Once you open that door, you’ll be transported straight to the North Pole. Once you get there, you have to find her!” 

Yerim nodded. “Right, that’s it.”

Sooyoung reached behind her and opened the door, revealing the dark foyer into their apartment - but it looked entirely different from how she’d left it earlier that day.

Joohyun gasped as her friends stood behind her, ushering her inside. 

The apartment was completely transformed. 

The front hallway was lined with Christmas lights, twinkling so brightly that it didn’t matter that none of the main lights in the apartment seemed to be on. On the walls, there were drawings and cardboard cut-outs of reindeer and evergreen trees.

They passed the kitchen and living room, which had also been decorated fully. Their white refrigerator now had cute magnets on it, making it look like it was a big snowman. The kitchen table included Christmas treats - including some of Joohyun’s favourites. 

The living room, though, took her breath away. 

Instead of their modest “tree” made of lights, there was a massive Christmas tree - and from the looks of it, it was a real one. It was beautifully decorated and lit up. On the tree were custom ornaments - Christmas baubles and festive frames that were full of little pictures. There were photos from the past year of her and Seulgi, and photos with her parents, her sister, and their friends, Wendy, Sooyoung and Yerim. Even the ornament that her parents sent her from her childhood was on the tree. 

And to Joohyun’s surprise, there were a few photos from today - she wasn’t sure _how_ Jaemin was able to get it to them so quickly. Somehow amongst the decorations, there were a stunning photos of the two women at Gyeongbokgung Palace, hand-in-hand, holding each other close, and gazing lovingly at each other. 

In the center of the room, their usual throw rug was replaced by a vast new fluffy white rug, making it seem like snow had covered the room. Softly playing in the background was the Mariah Carey Christmas album she loved from her childhood. 

She turned around, almost in shock and gave the girls behind her a watery smile. That’s when she noticed that Yerim was holding up her iPhone - and her parents were on the screen, smiling and waving at her, from what looked like their hotel room. 

“What’s going on?” 

The girls just smiled at her, then their smiles grew, looking past her. 

Joohyun turned and there she was. 

Seulgi stood at the doorway into their bedroom, in a beautiful black dress that somehow seemed to twinkle with the lights surrounding them. She smiled shyly, her hands behind her back. She walked towards Joohyun who was still in the middle of the living room. 

“This isn’t exactly Finland but…”

Joohyun brought their lips together.

“This is perfect; it’s _better_ than the actual Santa’s Village.”

They pulled away and Seulgi nodded towards her friends and Joohyun’s parents. 

“They did most of the work - the girls set up while we were out, and like I said before, your family and _my _family and our friends sent money for some of the gifts we gave the kids today. I couldn’t have done any of this without them.”

“No, _unnie, _don’t listen to her,” Wendy interrupted. “This was _all_ her idea. We’re just here to help!”

“And to look cute in our elf outfits,” Sooyoung added, which Yerim quickly agreed with. 

“On that note…” Seulgi brought her hands from behind her back to reveal an envelope - similar to the one that inspired the day’s events. “Let me show you _my_ Christmas wish list for this year.”

Joohyun took it. Just like her letter from all those years ago, it was addressed to Santa Claus. 

“You can open it,” Seulgi said. “I have it on good authority that Santa is okay with you reading his mail.” 

Joohyun giggled. 

“Okay…” She opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. Unfolding the sheet inside, she expected a letter similar to the one she wrote when she was a child. But instead was a single sentence. She gave the others in the room a quick, confused glance, and read it out loud. 

_“‘Dear Santa, I want Joohyun to say yes. From Kang Seulgi.’”_

“What does that...mean?” Joohyun said. When she finally looked back at Seulgi, her girlfriend was nervously shifting on her feet. That’s when Joohyun noticed Seulgi holding something new. 

_A ring_. 

A gorgeous ring that was studded with diamonds around the platinum band, which only made it seem to dazzle brighter. Joohyun recognized it from _months_ and _months_ ago, when she and Seulgi first started dating. They were wandering around the high-end area of Lotte - looking at the Damiani store - and Joohyun pointed out that she thought it was beautiful. She thought nothing of it after. 

But she should’ve known Seulgi would remember something said in passing like that. Seulgi was that amazing of a girlfriend. 

“Seulgi…”

“I love you, Joohyun. You are kind and sweet and funny and kind of terrifying, especially when you get competitive. You bring out the best in me and everyone you meet. You’re beautiful - inside and out. You’re everything I want in a wife. I’m in awe of you every day and I’m _so_ glad I managed to convince you to date me.”

Joohyun laughed but at the same time, her eyes started to water. She looked back at her friends - the three of them all holding back excited squeals. Her parents, still appearing on FaceTime on Yerim’s phone, also looked emotional.

“I’ve never made a wish list for anything in my life; I’ve never written a letter to Santa Claus. But I hope that this wish comes true,” Seulgi continued. “I wish to be with you for the rest of our lives. We’re in front of our loved ones - your parents and our friends - because I want them to be part of this too. Uh, I think this is how it works - proposals are weird, but…” Seulgi got down on one knee and held the ring up. “Bae Joohyun, will you marry me?”

For a moment, Joohyun stopped breathing. 

All she could think of was Seulgi, how thoughtful and genuine the woman was. How selfless and caring and _wonderful _she was. How much she loved her and how loved how she felt whenever she was with her. 

Their love was perfect. 

“Baby? Uh,” Seulgi used her free hand to scratch the back of her neck. “Are you...going to say anything?”

Instead, overwhelmed and nearly crying, Joohyun got on her knees too and pulled Seulgi in for a kiss, nodding against her lips, repeating ‘_yes’ _between kisses. 

She would’ve registered the sounds of the other girls celebrating, or even her parents’ loud cheers coming through from Yerim’s iPhone, but instead all she could think about was Seulgi. 

Seulgi, who was better than any wish she could think of, beyond all of her expectations. The engagement ring on her finger, was a beautiful gift - but the best was the woman who she was officially going to spend the rest of her life with. 

\--

“_Unnie_, what did you get Seulgi-_unnie_ for Christmas?” Yerim asked, a few hours later while the girls celebrated their engagement. They were sitting around Seulgi and Joohyun’s festive Christmas table, sharing the different treats that the girls brought. 

Joohyun blushed, remembered the practical gift that she got for Seulgi, still unopened - a new monitor for her gaming computer. It was something Seulgi had asked for, but it definitely didn’t compare to the amazing day that Seulgi gave her. 

Before she could answer though, Seulgi spoke up, wrapping her arms tighter around her _fiancée_. (Joohyun kind of _loved_ that she could call Seulgi that now.)

With a smirk and a failed wink at Joohyun, Seulgi said, “I’m sure I’ll get a _great_ gift once she and I are alone.”

Despite laughing - because, yeah, Joohyun agreed with what she was insinuating (Seulgi was _definitely_ going to be rewarded for today) - she swatted her girlfriend’s arm. 

“Seulgi! If you’re not careful, Santa will put you on the naughty list next year.” 

Another glint flashed in Seulgi’s eyes and Joohyun regretted her comment immediately.

“Promise?” Seulgi asked, smirking. The girls around the table started gagging and groaning.

“Ugh, you two are even _grosser_ now that you’re engaged,” Sooyoung whined. “How is that possible?”

“Say it again!” Seulgi said, excitedly. 

“You’re gross!” Sooyoung repeated, willfully ignoring Seulgi’s actual request. 

“You’re gross _and_ engaged!” Wendy corrected. 

While the three girls laughed together at the couple’s expense, Joohyun turned to Seulgi. 

“I’m glad I get to be gross and _married_ to you one day,” she said, before leaning down to capture Seulgi’s lips. “I’m so glad Santa managed to fulfill my wish list and yours.” 

When she pulled away, Seulgi just smiled back at her, with the most tender of expressions. 

“Merry Christmas, Joohyun.”

“Merry Christmas, Seulgi.”

\--

The following year, Santa granted Joohyun’s wish list once again: she spent her Christmas in Daegu, not only with her parents and sister - but also with her _wife_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays, everyone. <3 Thanks for being so lovely and generous to me this year!
> 
> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


	4. I'll be your hero and win it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seulgi is an actress who stars as Silk on her own self-titled TV series. She meets Joohyun and her little sister Yerim at a fan convention. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from: Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen
> 
> This fic is very unbeta'd. Wowowowow. Also I know nothing about superheroes and I don't care to find out. :D

** _@hi_sseulgi:_ ** _ “Hi SDCC! I’m excited to meet everyone today. See you all soon! xo”_

-

Flashing lights, screams and shouts of her name rang out. Fandom conventions like these were always a strange, almost out-of-body experience for Seulgi. She had recently begun shooting the third season as Cindy Moon on the show _Silk_, but had taken a short break to travel down to San Diego for this day.

Her agent tried to dissuade her from doing Comic Con. Her show was growing in popularity and she was becoming “too big, too famous” for these kinds of events. But Seulgi loved it. 

Yes, she loved the applause and the attention - but she mostly loved meeting the fans and the sincere affection many of them had for the show and by extension, her. She heard from young fans who called her a role model. Met older fans who would speak to her about the importance of representation. Queer fans who would flirt with her (she kind of especially enjoyed those moments).

As long as she could - and as long as the conventions could support her growing security needs - she would continue to attend these events.

She couldn’t imagine, when she was stopped on the street by a talent scout in Ansan, that _this_ would be her life. 

Seulgi had finished her interview panel where she discussed the upcoming season. Now she was signing autographs and then she’d have a little break before moving on to doing photo ops. 

She had been signing autographs for the last hour and there was no sign of the line stopping, which was a thrill to her. She had just finished talking to a nice fan who travelled from Singapore to meet her when a small, shy little girl approached. 

The girl looked about 10 years old. She was cosplaying as Silk - wearing Silk’s signature black and white suit complete with red facemask, that was pulled down to reveal her big grin. She was _adorable_ and Seulgi couldn’t help but squeal from behind the autograph table. 

“_Omo!” _she said. “I love your outfit!”

“Thank you! I’m you!” the girl said, twirling to show off the replica costume. 

“No, you look more powerful than I ever could be. _You_ should be Silk!” Seulgi said, grabbing a photo of herself from the stack to sign it for the fan. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

“I’m Yerim!” she said. “I had a question that I wanted to ask you during your panel but I was too shy…” 

“What’s that? I’m all ears, I’m ready!”

“Who do you want Cindy to end up with? Jae or Sawyer?”

Seulgi smiled at this common question she always got. Jae versus Sawyer. Cindy Moon’s two main love interests on the show. Part of the suspense of the show was that Cindy hadn’t yet ‘decided’ who she’d end up with, despite having some near-steamy moments with both characters. 

Seulgi shrugged. “Who do you prefer?”

“Well, Jae’s so tall and handsome and he’s always trying to help her. But Sawyer is always trying to make her laugh. I just don’t know! But my _unnie_,” The girl then reached behind her and tugged forward the woman who was behind her, “wants Cindy to end up with Dr. Manning. She ships them!” 

Seulgi tried to always focus on the person who she was talking to at these events, to give everyone an equal amount of time. So she almost scolded herself for not noticing her before. When this woman came forward, Seulgi couldn’t help but gasp. She was _gorgeous_.

And Seulgi almost forgot to listen to little Yerim. 

“Really?” Seulgi said, easily regaining her composure (a trick of the trade). She flashed the woman a flirty smile. She couldn’t help herself - Dr. Sarah Manning was Cindy Moon’s closest ally and confidant on the show - and a _woman_. 

Seulgi found herself in a Twitter rabbit hole once and discovered a large segment of fans who wanted the pair together. It was an interesting evening.

“Well, let me tell you and your _unnie_ a secret… I want those two together too!” 

Yerim giggled and tugged her forward again. “Joohyun-_unnie_ watches _Silk_ with me every week.”

“She does?” Seulgi asked, handing over the autograph to Yerim (It read: ‘_To Yerim, who is an even fiercer Silk than I could ever be! Love, Seulgi.’)_. “Are you a fan of the show too?”

This time, Joohyun blushed. “I am. I love your character.” 

“She’s a _big_ fan,” Yerim said.

“It’s so nice to meet you. Your panel was amazing.”

“It’s so nice to meet you too! And I’m especially glad because it looks like _Silk_ has the most beautiful fans with you two.” 

She grinned as the two blushed in front of her. She wasn’t usually so shameless, but the older sister was cute and Seulgi only had so much self-control. 

Unfortunately, their conversation was cut short by her handler. She said goodbye to the young fan and her (definitely adult, probably around Seulgi’s age) older sister and then moved on to the next fan who was patiently waiting to meet her. 

-

Now Seulgi was in the Photo Op hall, standing in front of the blue backdrop and in the midst of posing for fun photos with fans. She was always impressed by the hilarious posing ideas that fans thought up for her. She waved goodbye to a group of girls who pulled her into a group photo where they posed like Kpop idols and then waited for the next group to come pose with her. 

To Seulgi’s delight, she recognized them - the adorable sisters from earlier that day. 

“You’re back!” Seulgi said, opening her arms for little Yerim to run into. “Yerim, right? And _unnie_?” 

The older sister laughed. “Joohyun, but you can call me _unnie,_ sure. You remember us?”

“Of course I do; I always remember beautiful ladies!” Seulgi said, cheesily grinning at Joohyun. Yerim still had her arms around her. 

“Are you _always_ so friendly?” Joohyun asked. 

Seulgi shook her head. “Only with pretty girls.” 

She was _thrilled_ when Joohyun blushed at the compliment. She internally patted herself on the back for making the woman react that way.

“Let’s take the photo!” the photographer said, interrupting the moment. She glared at the man - _yes_, they had a lot of photos to take, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a meaningful moment with the people who came to support her.

(Plus she wanted to know what Joohyun was going to say to her statement.) 

The three stood in a row - Yerim in front, with Seulgi and Joohyun standing next to each other - and they smiled for the camera. They were quickly ushered away by her handler with a quick wave goodbye. This time Seulgi’s eyes lingered on Joohyun as she walked away. 

-

The other perk of coming to these events was the nice hotel she was always put up in. After a day of being constantly surrounded by people, she was happy to have been completely alone with nothing to do.

Seulgi was in her large hotel suite - she just finished soaking in the luxurious tub and was sitting on the bed in her bathrobe. She was planning on ordering dinner in - room service was necessary when there were event-goers crawling through the hotel, hoping for a celebrity sighting - but first, she decided to scroll through her social media.

She had been tagged in quite a few posts about her panel. A few speculative tweets about the upcoming season, based on the little hints she gave during her interviews. And lots of Instagram pictures of her with the fans who got photos with her. 

She scrolled through the app, liking the posts as they came out, when she stopped at a photo with two familiar faces. 

Joohyun and Yerim.

_‘Thank you for making my day and Yerim’s dreams come true. It was nice to meet you! @hi_sseulgi’ _ The tweet - from _hyunbaebae_ \- was sent just a few minutes before. Attached was a photo of Seulgi grinning with a beaming Yerim and Joohyun.

Seulgi met hundreds of people today - maybe even thousands - but these two made an impression. Yerim’s sweet sincerity and Joohyun’s… everything. She was quiet and reserved but Seulgi could feel her excitement. She seemed sweet. And it really didn’t hurt that she was _stunning_. 

Seulgi couldn’t resist flirting with a pretty girl, even if it amounted to nothing.

Seulgi’s sexual orientation was public - she was proudly queer and happy to be able to be open about it. But she’d never really been able to date. She was always busy, always on the go. And when she was free, she was back home in Seoul where her identity was still met with controversy and criticism. She wouldn’t ever want to put that on a potential partner.

She looked at the _hyunbaebae_ account, and sure enough, it was Joohyun’s. The profile picture was a photo of the woman wearing a pink hat, her eyes staring up at the camera like it was looking into Seulgi’s soul. Her bio had a pride flag emoji in it which raised Seulgi’s hopes just a little. 

Before Seulgi could even stop herself, she clicked Joohyun’s account and tapped ‘Follow’ and then the _Message_ symbol. 

She typed out a short and sweet message, directly to the woman. 

** _@hi_sseulgi:_ ** _ ‘You two could make my day by joining me for dinner tonight.’_

-

Yerim was skipping happily between the two women. 

The exuberant girl kept the conversation going the whole night, telling Seulgi all about her school, her love of _Silk_ and her fondness for kpop (and it thrilled her to no end when Seulgi told her she was good friends with her favourite Korean singers, Wendy and Joy).

Seulgi was surprised when Joohyun replied to her message pretty much immediately. Joohyun’s first reaction was one of disbelief (_‘Is this really Seulgi? Have you been hacked? Is this fake?’). _When Seulgi convinced her it was real and that she could arrange for her driver to pick them up to meet her, Joohyun quickly accepted the invitation.

They went to a small Korean barbeque restaurant, a little bit away from the convention center, which gave Seulgi some anonymity. Over pork belly, bulgogi and short ribs, the three got to know each other - or rather, Seulgi got to know more about the sisters. 

Their family moved from Daegu to California when Yerim was still a toddler. Like Seulgi, Joohyun had to learn English as a young teenager, which is why she had an adorable slight accent when she spoke. Yerim was still in school, obviously, and lived with their parents in Fullerton. Joohyun moved closer to Los Angeles, where she worked as a researcher at one of the universities. 

(Seulgi was surprised she wasn’t a model or an actor herself, because she was just that gorgeous.)

“So are you here to see any other shows and panels?”

“Nope, just Silk! We’re meeting Johnny Suh tomorrow!” 

“He’s a great guy, you’ll love him.”

“I think he’s handsome,” Yerim said, a little starry eyed. Johnny had that effect on people. Even though Seulgi was _very_ gay, she could definitely understand his appeal. “This entire weekend was my birthday present from _unnie_. I told her I wanted to come here and see you and she made it happen!”

“Wow, incredible. From what I understand, it’s hard to get comic con tickets.”

“It… took a bit of coordinated effort but it was worth it.”

“I’m glad it worked out for you,” Seulgi said, sincerely.

She loved listening to all of Yerim’s stories about her life, with Joohyun’s affectionate interjections. Their relationship - Joohyun being the much older sister who doted on her _dongsaeng_ \- made Seulgi like Joohyun even more. While it was made clear that Yerim really admired Seulgi, the actor could tell that her true role model and idol was Joohyun. And of course she was - Seulgi had only spent a couple hours with her and she was already struck by how charming, intelligent and kind she was. 

“Thank you again for dinner,” Joohyun said, as Seulgi walked the two back into their hotel lobby. Fortunately with her facemask and baseball cap on, no one paid the actor any attention. 

“Thank _you_. I haven’t had this much fun in a while.” Seulgi considered her options for a moment, then said. “Can I grab your phone? Let me give you my number.”

“Seriously?” Joohyun asked, stopping in her tracks. 

Yerim raised her eyebrows. “_Unnie!_” 

Seulgi blushed, thinking she had misread the situation entirely. “Uh, unless you don’t want to keep in touch…” 

This time Yerim tried to grab Joohyun’s bag. “I’ll give it to you!” 

Joohyun stopped her hands. “I just - why are you being so nice to us?” she asked. Seulgi hadn’t ever gotten that look of suspicion before.

“_Unnie!_” Yerim admonished. “Give her your number!”

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you two feel uncomfortable,” Seulgi said, already feeling so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl under the decorative table in the middle of the hotel lobby and die. “I just - our set is in Glendale and and I’d love to have you guys come visit....” 

“Really?!” Yerim asked, her eyes widening. Then the little firecracker hit her sister’s arm. “_Unnie!_”

Joohyun looked shocked. “I’m sorry - this is just so surreal because you’re _you_ and-” 

Yerim rolled her eyes at her sister, then interrupted her. 

“_Unnie_ has had a crush on you since the third episode of season one when Cindy Moon got attacked by the Inheritors! It’s when she showed her abs for the first time!”

“Yerim!” Joohyun gasped, exasperated as Seulgi felt herself grin, suddenly feeling _very_ smug. 

She worked hard on those abs, after all. 

“She kept a picture of you as her phone background for a month. It’s how _umma_ and _appa_ figured out she was a _lesbinam_!” Yerim said, confidently mispronouncing the word. Then she excitedly puffed out her chest. “I knew she was one all along though, because she and I don’t have any secrets, I‘m her secret-keeper.”

Joohyun glared at her little sister. ”And you’re doing a great job at it,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. 

“Oops.” Yerim didn’t look at all apologetic.

“Wait, is this true?” Seulgi asked, excitedly. “You had a crush on me?”

“Of course I did. You’re… beautiful. And an inspiration - and I mean _you_, not just your character,” Joohyun said, like it was obvious. And even though Seulgi had heard both those things - numerous times that day, even - it still meant the world to her, hearing it from Joohyun. “But I only put my wallpaper that way for a month, had the awkward conversation with my parents, then put it back on my regular background.” 

“A picture of me and her!” Yerim proudly said. 

“Well I’m glad to have helped contributed to your coming out?” 

“It was fine, yeah. There were worse ways my parents could’ve found out.” 

“Will you _please_ accept my phone number? Because I want to get to know you better. Both of you,” Seulgi said, giving Yerim another big smile. Then she winked (terribly) at Joohyun. “Especially now that I know you like my abs.”

“Ugh.”

This time Yerim successfully reached into Joohyun’s bag and took her phone out for her. 

“Put in your number. Her passcode is 0329 - her birthday.”

“Yerim-ah!” 

-

** _@hi_sseulgi:_ ** _ “Thank you SDCC. I think I met a few Silks who were even better than me! I hope you all enjoy this season of Silk. :)” _

-

The day Seulgi arranged for them to be on set was an action-packed day for the actor. Cindy, as Silk, had to run and jump from building top to building top, trying to catch a criminal. Since she had her mask on, a lot of the scene was to be done by her stunt double, but she needed to be in costume and ready for shots that showed her face clearly. 

Shot after shot, Seulgi ran, jumped and ducked from the faux danger that came her way. But that was just half of it. The entire crew made her look like she was in more peril than she really was. 

Her final scene that afternoon was a shot of her jumping off the building. Silk’s mask was to come undone and the hero would have to quickly jump away to keep her identity hidden. As this scene would reveal Cindy’s face, Seulgi was the one who had to do the stunt. 

She looked down at the crew as she stood at the top of the building, which was several stories high. Below, the directed gave her some notes through her megaphone. Standing with her were Joohyun and Yerim, along with the stunt coordinator and some of her costars. 

Her cast looked excited. Yerim looked riveted. Joohyun looked _terrified_. It only gave her the confidence to pull off this next maneuver. 

The director yelled “ACTION!” and Seulgi was transformed. As Silk, she felt her mask fly off her face - a trick of the props team that had her mask connected by fishing wire. Then, her eyes flashed with terror at getting caught. Without any further thought, as the police were getting closer, as Silk’s nemesis was nearing, she had to hide. So ran - then she hit the spot, established by the stunt coordinator, indicating that this was where she’d jump. 

And then she did.

She flew off the building without a second thought, cameras hovering above her on drones and cranes, to capture the shot at every angle. A coordinated explosion, from Silk’s enemy, blasted behind her. Seulgi could barely hear it though, as the wind was rushing past her ears, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and then-

She was surrounded. Enveloped by a gigantic, soft pillow which broke her fall, saving her from injury. And then a loud, resounding “_CUT!” _broke through the rush. 

“Well done, Seulgi! That’s a wrap for today!” 

One of the stunt supervisors came and helped Seulgi off the inflatable landing pad and an on-set medical team member checked on Seulgi. With assurance from the paramedic that she was fine, Seulgi hopped off to Yerim and Joohyun and their opposing reactions to the scene: Yerim excitedly ran towards her, exclaiming _“you looked so cool, Seulgi-unnie!” _versus Joohyun who looked markedly paler than she did before. 

-

Seulgi’s main co-stars on set that day were extra sweet to Yerim and Joohyun, as fans of the show. They posed for pictures with the sisters and answered all of Yerim’s excited questions. Johnny, who played one of Seulgi’s potential love interests, Jae, was in the middle of being ordered around by Yerim. Right now he was giving her a piggyback to the craft services table. It gave Seulgi and Joohyun the opportunity to talk to each other alone in Seulgi’s trailer.

“Do you always your own stunts?” Joohyun asked. She was finally settled after being reassured that _yes_, Seulgi was fine. 

“Only when the mask is off. And only if I know it’s completely safe. But don’t tell my mom, because no amount of safety is safe enough for her.” 

“Well you just jumped from building to building without a harness! Then you jumped off a five story building!”

“It was safe! They had landing pads underneath!”

“_Seulgi!_”

“Were you scared for me?” Seulgi asked, teasingly. 

She was satisfied when Joohyun scrunched up her nose. “Shut up.”

“Joohyun-_unnie_, the only time you need to worry about me falling is if it’s for _you_.”

The cheeky smile that Seulgi flashed Joohyun did not seem to humour the woman as much as Seulgi thought it would, because her flirt was rewarded with a swift hit to her shoulder. 

“I swear, I’m going to strangle Yerim for telling you about my phone background.”

-

** _@hi_sseulgi:_ ** _ “Some days I just love love love my job. Today was one of those days.” _

** _@thatssuhjohnny: _ ** _“@hi_sseulgi because you work with me, right?”_

** _@hi_sseulgi:_ ** _ “@thatssuhjohnny shouldn’t you be doing Yerim’s bidding?” _

** _@thatssuhjohnny: _ ** _“@hi_sseulgi shouldn’t you be doing Joohyun-noona’s bidding?”_

** _@hi_sseulgi:_ ** _ “Some days I just love love love my job. Except for working with @thatssuhjohnny, he’s the worst.” _

** _@thatssuhjohnny: _ ** _“@hi_sseulgi </3”_

-

On a rare weekend off, Seulgi was exploring a part of Los Angeles that she rarely got to see - Koreatown. Fortunately for her, she had an expert guide with her in Joohyun, who brought her straight to her favourite _bingsu_ shop. 

Being friends with a fan was strange. It was almost a weird power dynamic - like, sometimes Seulgi felt like Joohyun was more aware of what she was doing. But Seulgi found that with Joohyun, she didn’t mind the attention. Despite the circumstances how they met, the friendship felt sincere. 

But maybe, Joohyun paid close attention to her because well, Seulgi paid _a lot _of attention to Joohyun. And how could Seulgi not? Joohyun was… Joohyun. 

Though now that she thought about it, since they started to talk more, Seulgi noticed that Joohyun wouldn’t ask her about her show or acting unless the actor brought it up. Maybe Joohyun even stopped watching. 

In fact, Seulgi kind of wanted to find out… 

“Have you been liking this season so far?” Seulgi asked, stealing a bite of the shaved ice from her bowl. 

“Yeah.” Her tone was pretty noncommittal. 

“Have you really?” Seulgi pressed. “It’s okay if you stopped watching it, I know sometimes third seasons are harder to keep an interest in-”

“No, it’s not that!” Joohyun said, reading between the lines. “I just don’t want you to think that’s the only reason I talk to you.”

“Oh?”

“I don’t want you to think that I’m a creepy, clingy fan,” she added, her voice small.

Seulgi reached forward and put her hand on hers, giving it a squeeze. “I don’t think that at all. We’re friends, Joohyunnie.”

Joohyun ducked her head down a bit and grinned down, her gaze not meeting Seulgi’s. The movement caused a strand of hair to slip from behind her ear, and Seulgi had to stop herself from reaching up and fixing it for her. 

(Fixing it? Or really, was it because Seulgi wanted to touch her adorable, blushing face?)

“It’s strange though, now that I know you,” Joohyun admitted, pulling Seulgi from her thoughts. “When I see you fighting bad guys, it’s bizarre because I know how much of a softie you are in real life.”

“Hey!” Seulgi said, pulling Joohyun closer to her in a playful (but slightly aggressive) hug.

Joohyun just laughed, allowing Seulgi to wrap her arm around her shoulders. “Plus it’s weird to see Johnny act serious and deep, now that I know how much of a dork _he_ is.” 

“Has the magic been lost for Yerim?” Seulgi asked, now completely comfortable with their affection. 

“Not at all. In fact, I think she’s madly in love with Johnny even more,” Joohyun said. Seulgi laughed, making a note to tell Johnny about his most passionate fan. 

“Okay, so you still watch the show. Good to know! How has it been for you?”

“Brilliant as always. And I’m not just saying that because I know you.” 

“I’m glad!”

“Plus, uh, Cindy Moon’s scenes with Felicia Hardy have been pretty...interesting…”

This season, the show introduced a new evil mastermind, Felicia Hardy (aka Black Cat) played by Tiffany Young. The scenes with the two enemies had been full of tension and suspense; but they were also seen as full of passion and chemistry. Lots of the audience have been ‘shipping’ the two, despite their fraught relationship. 

“Do you ship them too?” Seulgi asked, with a coy smile. She pulled her arm from around Joohyun’s shoulders to the back of her chair. This angle allowed her to look a little more directly at Joohyun, who blushed once again. 

(Was Seulgi intentionally doing things just to make Joohyun blush? Absolutely.)

“No…” Joohyun said, falling for Seulgi’s trap and still blushing. “but you two do seem to work well together.” 

“She’s been fun to have on set. She’s a legend. Girls’ Generation was my first concert when I was younger.”

“She is,” Joohyun agreed. Then she added, trying to sound casual but Seulgi could hear a little bite in her tone, “and your chemistry is amazing.” 

“She’s a great actor,” Seulgi supplied. 

Joohyun gave a noise of agreement. 

“And very straight,” Seulgi added. 

“What does that have to do with anything-”

(Joohyun feigned confusion but Seulgi could tell she felt a bit of relief.)

“You just seemed a little…”

“What?”

“Jealous.”

“Why would I be jealous?”

Before Seulgi could reply, she heard the distinct sound of a camera shutter. Instinctively she looked around. While she wasn’t _that_ notable, sometimes she was followed by paparazzi - especially ones who were hired by Korean “news” agencies. She looked across the street and sure enough, in a dark car a camera lense was sticking out of a rolled down window.

“Damn it,” Seulgi said. She pulled her cap a little more down on her head and slouched in her seat. “Don’t look now, but we’re being followed.”

“What?!” Joohyun exclaimed, doing exactly the opposite and looking every which way to see what Seulgi was referring to.

“A photographer - probably paparazzi hired by _Dispatch_. I don’t know why they care, I don’t act in anything back home anymore…” 

Joohyun took one last big bite from her _bingsu_ bowl and then tossed it into the nearby trash can. 

“Let’s lose them, then!” 

Joohyun grabbed the actor’s hand and took off. Led them down the sidewalk - Seulgi could hear the photographer get out of his car and frantically follow behind, trying to get a shot of their antics. Seulgi looked back and saw him scrambling with his camera, which led Seulgi to start giggling - and when Joohyun looked back, she broke into a fit of laughter too.

“He looks sad, I almost want to help him,” Seulgi admitted. 

Joohyun tugged in her hand more. “No, that’s what they want! Paparazzi get no sympathy Seulgi-ya!” 

Despite his clumsiness, the paparazzi followed closely, this time making no effort to be incognito. Fortunately Joohyun was faster than he was. Seulgi was at Joohyun’s mercy as the shorter woman weaved, turning right then veering left, down several blocks and alleyways, all to confuse the poor, bumbling photographer.

Finally, Joohyun abruptly pushed them in between a hair salon and trendy (closed) night club. 

“Shh!” Joohyun said, standing close to Seulgi and putting her hand over her mouth. Joohyun poked her head out past the side of the building then quickly hid again, this time hiding Seulgi as well as she could with her little body.

Past Joohyun’s shoulder, Seulgi spotted the photographer running past them, looking confused, and not seeing the girls _at all_. Seulgi was about to thank Joohyun for her quick thinking but then it registered how close they were.

In an effort to hide, Seulgi allowed herself to be pushed against the brick wall of the building. Joohyun’s body was flush against her, in the tight space. Standing this close to her, she could see details in her face that she was shocked to have not noticed before.

Her beautiful, big eyes that usually twinkled with mirth but right now looked deep and reflective. Her milky, smooth skin - contrasted the moles that appeared next to her eyebrow and on her cheek. They were like stars against a beautiful backdrop. Then Seulgi made the mistake of looking lower on Joohyun’s face at her full lips, that looked _so_ delicious, like they were meant to be tasted by Seulgi’s own. 

And admittedly, Seulgi was a half-second away from acting on her impulse when Joohyun quickly pulled away. 

“We should be safe now. Let’s go?”

All Seulgi could do was nod.

Her heart was pounding - and it wasn’t from running away from the photographer. 

The photos of the two girls - eating their _bingsu_, Seulgi with her arm around her, and then the two running away and laughing - were published online the next day. 

Fortunately their moment in the alley was not intruded on. 

-

** _@sindymooon: _ ** _“Who’s your friend, @hi_sseulgi?” _

** _@cindmanning:_ ** _ “.@hi_sseulgi has hot friends, pass it on.”_

** _@seulkgi:_ ** _ “how can i be @hi_sseulgi, pretty girl next to pretty girl next to pretty girl…”_

** _@wenjoymoon:_ ** _ “Hey, @hi_sseulgi, is your friend *does wendy and joy’s umpah umpah choreo* into girls?”_

** _@hi_sseulgi:_ ** _ I wish people respected my privacy and the privacy of my friends. _

** _@sindymooon: _ ** _“Oop. She’s mad. Sorry, @hi_sseulgi.” _

-

The nature of Seulgi being a young, sought-out actor meant that unless she was filming _Silk_, she was never home (which she was starting to consider Echo Park, where she lived). After a month away filming a movie in Vancouver, Seulgi was finally back. 

The first thing she did when she got to Los Angeles was ask Joohyun if she wanted to go out for coffee. She kept in touch with Joohyun while she was away but hadn’t seen her since the night before she left, when she took Joohyun and Yerim out for dinner. 

“I’m surprised you’ve kept in touch,” Joohyun said, taking a sip of her tea. “Not that I mind - it’s been really nice to get to know you! But I’m a research nerd and you’re literally on the cover of magazines.”

“I like talking to you. First of all, I like talking in Korean. And second, you remind me of home. LA _and_ Korea. Well, the good parts of home.” 

“Are you sure it’s not because of the Korean restaurant I took you to?”

Seulgi laughed. “That’s a contributing factor, sure. But you know what I mean, right?”

“I do. It’s been nice getting to know _you_, not the girl with a million abs who was on the cover of Women’s Health.”

“What?! I don’t have _a million_ _abs_, that’s not even possible!”

“Seulgi-ya, _please_” Joohyun scolded, making Seulgi feel appropriately admonished (plus the way Joohyun said her name made her swoon a bit). “Your abs have abs!” 

“It was _photoshopped! _And strategic shadows!”

“Sure it was.” Joohyun smirked. “Oh, I forgot to mention - I ran into Johnny at The Grove the other day. He was with a friend of his - she said you two knew each other. Krystal Jung.”

Oh, Seulgi knew her alright. Krystal was on another show on their network and while she was _beautiful_, she was also a bit of a player. Seulgi made the mistake of going on a couple dates with her before she realized she just wanted to play around. Seulgi was not interested in that. 

“I know her, yeah,” Seulgi said, vaguely. “She’s a flirt.”

Joohyun arched an eyebrow. “Sounds familiar.”

“What? I’m not a flirt!”

Joohyun made a noise of disbelief.

“What? I’m not. I’m sincere. If I flirt, it’s because I’m interested. She just flirts because if she doesn’t flirt with women, she’ll die.”

Joohyun laughed, completely brushing aside Seulgi’s thinly veiled confession. “She asked for my number, actually.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah. She was pretty forward, actually, even Johnny seemed surprised.”

Like sirens blaring in Seulgi’s head, she suddenly felt an urgent need to _do something_ about her growing crush on Joohyun. She couldn’t keep standing back, especially if beautiful women like _Krystal Jung_ were flirting with her. 

“Did you give it to her?” 

“Yeah; she seemed nice enough. But she asked me out and I declined.” This admission from Joohyun made Seulgi’s beating heart slow a little; she was relieved, to say the least. “She seemed weirded out when I told her what I did for a living. I think she thought I was another actor or something.”

“But your job is impressive!”

“Well I’m glad someone thinks so.”

“Everything you do is impressive to me, Joohyun.” 

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere.”

“Damn it.”

-

** _@marrymesilkmoon_ ** _: “Help me @hi_sseulgi, I like a girl but she doesn’t notice me, what should I do?????”_

** _@hi_sseulgi_ ** _: “@marrymesilkmoon When you find out, let me know ‘cause I have no idea.”_

** _@hello_ssilki_ ** _: “How does @hi_sseulgi have problems getting girls?? Who do i have to fight?!” _

** _@hi_sseulgi_ ** _: “@hello_ssilki Don’t fight her; she’s cute.” _

-

The season three wrap party was in full swing. Like a scene out of a movie, the excited (and overworked) crew members, writers, directors and of course, cast, were letting loose the best way they knew how - copious amounts of alcohol, dancing and good food. And while most people were on the dance floor, Seulgi was observing the crowd from afar, with a very beautiful woman on her arm. 

Joohyun, of course.

They were still just friends at this point, but things were definitely changing. The only benefit to this extreme amount of yearning that Seulgi was feeling was that she could probably draw from it during future acting experiences. Nothing in her life - not her first successful audition with an agent, not when she was cast as Silk - made feel this level of longing. 

The two were nursing their drinks. Seulgi didn’t want to drink too much and risk ruining the evening for Joohyun (and herself, really). She wanted her wits about her, in case the moment - the moment she’d been _desperately_ seeking - came up.

She just really wanted to finally fucking kiss Joohyun.

Seulgi planned on doing so after the party. She already had half the mind to ask Joohyun if she wanted to leave to go somewhere quiet ‘to talk’ but it was too early in the evening. As the star of the show, she had to stay. 

(Also she totally knew how cliche the request would be and Seulgi didn’t want Joohyun to think she was being smarmy.)

They watched a few of the writers and Johnny do another round of shots of soju, both just content with standing close to each other. Seulgi’s arm found its way around Joohyun’s shoulders; Joohyun’s hand found its way up to intertwine with Seulgi’s. It felt _right_. It felt natural. 

Seulgi enjoyed the moment until Joohyun’s fingers tightened around hers. 

“Krystal Jung is walking over…” she said, drawing Seulgi’s attention to the intimidating beauty who happened to just weeks ago hit on Joohyun and just months ago casually dated Seulgi. 

She braced herself for an awkward conversation and Krystal’s first question delivered. 

“Oh, is this why you rejected me?” 

“Hey Krystal,” Joohyun said. 

The two women both let go from their side-embrace. Seulgi immediately felt out of place.

“Joohyun, you look stunning tonight,” Krystal said, with an air about her that Seulgi couldn’t quite read. 

Was she jealous of Joohyun? Did she want to devour her? Both? I’m any case, it made Seulgi a little uneasy. She felt her jaw clench and she protectively put a hand on Joohyun’s shoulder. 

Joohyun was _her _almost/maybe girlfriend! Krystal should back off! 

But Krystal must have noticed Seulgi’s reaction because her expression went from leering, like a predator stalking its prey, to light and friendly - _such_ a contrast. 

“Seulgi-ya, you never returned my calls. And _this one_ outright turned me down. Have I dated all the women in Los Angeles that now they’re starting to date each other?” Krystal asked, with a cutesy pout. 

“Oh-”

“-We’re not-” 

Krystal grinned. 

“Oops. My mistake. Just - Johnny made it seem like you two were together… plus with how you two were holding each other... ” she gave them a knowing smirk and then added, “You two must be really good _friends_ then.” 

Seulgi rolled her eyes but let go of Joohyun, not wanting to stoke the rumours before _she_ even got the nerve to confess to the woman. 

“I think I see a single woman over there, you should probably go get her number,” Seulgi said, pointing vaguely past Krystal’s shoulder. 

“Very funny, Seulgi-ya. I’m taking the hint.” She nodded at Joohyun. “It was nice seeing you again.” 

“Good to see you too,” Joohyun said politely, this time linking her arm through Seulgi’s. Krystal walked away with another annoying smile (like she thought she was a mind-reader or something, pfft). 

At that moment, Seulgi saw more of her costars and crew members throw back even _more_ shots. She knew it was only going to be a matter of time before they roped her into it. She looked down at her watch and saw it was just a little past midnight. 

Early, but she could sneak away and maybe no one would notice… 

“Do you wanna get out of here?” Joohyun asked, suddenly. She looked warily at the growing crowd by the bar, all accepting various drinks and shots. “That looks like a hangover waiting to happen and I don’t want to be part of it…” 

“It’s early; want to hang out at my place?” Seulgi asked. Joohyun eagerly nodded.

“Okay!” 

The actor looked back at the bar and noticed a couple costars scanning the crowd with a tray of shots ready to wreak havoc. 

“Let’s go quickly, I think they’re trying to spot us!”

-

The two settled onto Seulgi’s couch, sitting closely but with a respectable distance. A little space that represented their friendship. 

They both got more comfortable. Seulgi loaned Joohyun a pajama set so she could feel comfortable; Seulgi also changed into her usual sleep clothes (shorts and a baggy tee). They washed their faces, removing their make-up, and Seulgi was distraught to find out that Joohyun was as beautiful bare-faced as she was with make-up.

It just wasn’t fair to her pathetic, pining, gay heart. 

However, Seulgi also felt a bit of deja vu - like, maybe seeing Joohyun like this was something she’d become familiar with seeing for a very long time. 

Instead of drinking more alcohol, Seulgi brought out her biggest vice - a few cans of Coca Cola. And she preferred it this way. Instead of using alcohol as a crutch to fein bravery, Seulgi was just going to find the bravery from within. 

She was a Hufflepuff, but she was going to act like a Gryffindor tonight. 

“So I saw your tweets from the other night,” Joohyun said, looking genuinely and innocently curious. 

Seulgi blushed. 

Uh, _lots _of people did. A shocking amount of people did. Articles were written. Her _mother_ even texted her from Korea. Seulgi underestimated people’s curiosity about who the ‘cute girl’ was. It was kind of embarrassing. 

And now said ‘cute girl’ was asking?! She felt her faux Gryffindor spirit fade.

“Is she anyone I know?” Joohyun asked. 

“Uh, what?” Seulgi asked, almost laughing. 

“Is she a celebrity too? Or do you know her from something else? Have I met her? Is she your make-up artist, she really seems to like you...” 

The fact that Joohyun was speculating at all almost irritated Seulgi. She almost groaned in frustration. 

Then she felt a surge of bravery, born out of being _kind of _annoyed with Joohyun. 

As smart as she was, Joohyun was really clueless sometimes. 

“It’s so obviously _you_ that I’m interested in,” Seulgi confessed abruptly. “I told you before, I only flirt when I mean it!” 

Joohyun’s already big brown eyes got even wider with the confession. 

“I thought you were just being nice,” she said, quietly, her mouth hung open in shock. 

“Joohyun…” 

“I’ve been an idiot,” she said, as if all the times Seulgi indirectly - and frankly, very directly - confessed came flashing in her mind. 

“No you haven’t,” Seulgi said, not sure if she needed to comfort her or apologize, even. “Look, if you don’t feel the same-“

“I do!” Joohyun said, almost yelling. “God, I used to have you on my phone as my wallpaper. I had a crush on you when you were this godlike actor, and it only got a thousand times worse when I got to know your real, dorky self.”

“Thanks?” Seulgi said but also kind of asked. There was a compliment in there, she thought… 

“You should probably kiss me,” Joohyun said suddenly. 

“Should I though? You’ve kind of been torturing me with this-”

Joohyun grabbed her shirt collar and brought their lips together. That effectively stopped Seulgi from teasing her. 

The kiss was electric. Like Seulgi was under her spell, Joohyun took control and coaxed moans and whimpers from the actor, who felt feelings that she’d never felt before. Seulgi was helpless but she didn’t care at all. How could she when Joohyun’s perfect lips were _so_ soft? How could she when Joohyun licked _so_ sensually past Seulgi’s parted lips? 

“I can’t believe this is happening…” Seulgi said, her lips still brushing against Joohyun’s as she spoke. 

“I know; I can’t believe you’re such a good kisser. You’re such a dork,” Joohyun said. Even though she was _still_ teasing her - even while they were making out! - Seulgi couldn’t help but tremble as Joohyun’s fingers gently caressed the nape of her neck. 

“Says _you_, research nerd,” she breathed out. 

“Of course I’m a good kisser, I’m good at everything,” Joohyun said, trying to pull her into another kiss - but Seulgi pulled back. 

“Well of course _I’m_ a good kisser, I’m a damn superhero.” 

“Okay there, superhero, show me what you got,” Joohyun said, her voice all sexy and breathy, effectively shutting Seulgi up. 

It could conclusively be said that nothing - no acting gig, no fan event, not even the feeling of jumping off a building - made Seulgi feel more ‘super’ than when Joohyun’s lips were against hers. 

-

** _@hi_sseulgi_ ** _: “@hyunbaebae you’re pretty cute. Will you go out with me?”_

** _@hyunbaebae_ ** _: “@hi_sseulgi you’re right beside me. We’re on a date right now.”_

** _@hi_sseulgi_ ** _: “@hyunbaebae NICE <3”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


	5. Walking up next to you every morning (E)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five mornings with Seulgi and Joohyun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Title from Now That I Found You by Carly Rae Jepsen._
> 
> _(Unbeta'd!) _ Also - smut alert!

** ** _One._ ** **

Seulgi was a champion sleeper. While she was a woman of many talents - no need to be modest about her abilities - the thing she was most proud of was her ability to doze off at the drop of a hat in any situation. 

Sleep on the hard floor of her dance studio? Easy. Once she even did it while a dance class was happening. 

Sleep on a bench outside a lecture hall while waiting for her best friend to get out of class? She’d done it once or twice _and_ managed not to have her backpack stolen. 

Sleep on public transportation? Absolutely. And she missed her stop.

Of course, one of her favourite places to sleep was her own bed, in her room at the apartment she shared with her best friend Wendy. Her room was her sanctuary. Seulgi loved to sleep, but almost nothing beat the complete perfection of her own bed. 

It was just the right size - a full bed, big enough for her to sprawl out when she needed to, but small enough that whenever her girlfriend slept over, they _had_ to snuggle. It had her big pillow and was right up against her bedroom wall so she could sleep against it (she’d fallen off the bed a few times, somehow clumsy awake _and_ asleep). It also had the fluffiest wool blanket and her corgi and pineapple stuffed toys.

If you would have Seulgi a few months ago where her ideal sleep spot would be, she would’ve _obviously_ said her own bed. 

But then she found Joohyun. And _her_ bed.

Seulgi totally didn’t mean it in a sexy way - although that certainly was an added bonus - but completely innocently. 

It had exactly everything Seulgi needed for a perfect night of sleep.

It was a nice size - a queen, quite fitting for her girlfriend. It had a lovely, warm duvet (although not exactly fluffy like her wool one) that felt like a cloud whenever she was under it. The pillows were high quality, hypoallergenic, something or something (Joohyun always had high standards for these things that Seulgi didn’t quite understand). And while it didn’t have Corgi-nim or Mr. Pineapple, it _did_ come with someone better. 

Joohyun. 

And sleeping next to her always gave Seulgi the best, most restful and peaceful sleeps. 

In fact, the only reason why she woke up at this moment was her sudden feeling that something was off about her usually perfect sleeping spot.

As she opened her eyes, she subconsciously reached towards the right side of the bed, where Joohyun slept. But instead of feeling the soft skin of her girlfriend, her fingers reached for… nothing. 

Seulgi was alone in Joohyun’s bed. 

Frowning and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she got up and pulled on a random oversized t-shirt - oh, she recognized this as one of her own, Joohyun must’ve taken it - and went in search of her girlfriend.

She quickly found her. Joohyun sat at her dining table, with her laptop open in front of her. She looked like she was mindlessly scrolling - probably on Facebook browsing through her sister’s latest travel pictures or on Wendy’s blog looking through her new recipes. 

She looked a little bored, completely comfortable and _stunning _in every way. 

They’d been together for a few months but even still, Joohyun’s beauty never failed to make Seulgi’s heart race a little. She suspected that Joohyun would always make her feel this way, and she didn’t mind at all. 

“Good morning,” Seulgi said, stifling a yawn while approaching her. She walked around the table to give Joohyun’s forehead a kiss.

“It’s two in the afternoon, Ddeulgi,” Joohyun pointed out, laughing quietly at Seulgi’s late wake-up. 

“But it’s morning somewhere in the world,” Seulgi argued cheekily. “Time zones will never fail me!”

Joohyun grinned and rolled her eyes. 

“Breakfast and lunch are ready for you, whichever you feel like.”

“Both!”

Seulgi puttered to the kitchen where, as promised, Joohyun left out a few options for her to eat (nay, _devour_). She happily filled herself a plate full of kimchi fried rice and spare ribs. 

“Thanks, baby!” Seulgi called out.

“You’re welcome!” Joohyun replied, from the other room.

While waiting for her sorta-brunch in front of the microwave, she felt two arms wrap around her waist. A gentle kiss pressed against the back of her neck. 

“I’m glad you’re finally up,” Joohyun said, muffled lips still against her skin. “I want cuddles.” 

Seulgi smiled and leaned slightly backwards into Joohyun’s hug. “After I finish; I’m hungry.” 

She could feel Joohyun’s pout. “Cuddle first, _then_ eat.”

“But…” She turned in Joohyun’s arms to hug her back, then peppered a couple gentle pecks on Joohyun’s lips, to kiss her frown away. “I want to eat. I _just_ woke up.”

“Well _I_ got up at a reasonable hour, unlike _someone_ I know.” 

“Hey, you know I’m weak to the powers of your bed!” Seulgi said, defending her own honour. “Can I eat first?”

Joohyun thought for a second - just as the microwave stopped with a little _beep_. 

“Can we cuddle while you eat?”

”Deal.” 

See, nights slept in Joohyun’s bed - with Joohyun - always led to amazing mornings. And any morning - or in Seulgi’s current case, any 2 pm - that included Joohyun meant that her entire day was going to be great.

So yes, Seulgi loved sleeping in her bed. 

But Joohyun’s was perfect. 

  
  


** ** _Two. _ ** **

It was well documented that Seulgi did not like waking up earlier than absolutely necessary. If it was up to her, she’d keep her university habits of staying up until the early hours of the morning and waking up _well_ past noon. She was a growing young 26-year-old woman/bear, after all - hibernation was crucial to her development. 

But this morning she was callously pulled from her slumber - at 6 am - and dragged to her car, to drive herself and her girlfriend three hours to Daegu.

At _6 am. _A _terrible_ time to wake up.

Sure, Seulgi loved road trips - especially fun and romantic date trips with Joohyun to the beach or the countryside. But this trip was not going to be fun or romantic. 

For the first time in Seulgi’s dating life, she was going to _meet_ _the parents_. 

In her short history of dating, both men and women, she’d managed to evade the ‘rents. She’d never been serious enough with past relationships. But now? With the beautiful (and evil) woman who dragged her out of bed at _6 am _that morning? 

They were serious. They were more than serious - Seulgi was pretty sure she was going to marry her one day. 

So according to Joohyun, driving down to Daegu to meet her family was the natural next step in their deepening relationship. The following week they were going to make the shorter trip to Ansan.

Seulgi was looking forward to introducing Joohyun to _her_ parents. She knew her appa and umma were going to love her. She knew her brother was going to be totally jealous that her girlfriend was even more beautiful than any of the girls he had ever dated.

But she didn’t know Joohyun’s parents. Seulgi knew that Joohyun was close with them - Joohyun told her that she’d told them all about their relationship and that they supported the girls. Joohyun reassured her that they were happy and excited to meet her.

Unfortunately this did nothing to assuage the nerves that grew the closer they got to Daegu.

What if they didn’t like her? What if they looked down on her? What if they thought Joohyun could do better?

This is exactly why Seulgi thought that nothing good ever came from getting up at 6 am. 

_Nothing. _

Three and a half hours later (with a stop for coffee along the way), she long gave up on pretending to be cool and confident about it. That was why, as they reached Daegu’s city limits, Joohyun was comforting the fidgety, anxious driver.

“Don’t be nervous!” Joohyun said, her eyes glimmering as she suppressed her laughter at Seulgi’s _legitimate_ panic. 

“Easy for you to say! They’re your parents, they have to love you! What if they hate me?” Seulgi asked, following the GPS’s orders, leading her straight to doom. 

“They’ll love you, and even if they don’t, it doesn’t matter because _I_ love you.”

“But really, they have every reason to hate me, I’m the one who’s defiling their precious innocent daughter.”

“First of all, gross. Second of all, you _like_ to defile me...”

“Stop it, no, you can’t talk like this, we’re only 20 minutes away!”

“It’ll be okay!” Joohyun said, cackling at her girlfriend.

Seulgi indignantly huffed. 

In no time at all, Seulgi was parking next to a modest home. It looked exactly as Joohyun described it. It was gated off, but Seulgi could see the garden that she could only just imagine a young Joohyun playing in. It was fitting that the house greeted its visitors with beautiful flowers and plants, because after all, it had been home to the most beautiful person Seulgi had ever known. 

The Bae house.

“This is home!” Joohyun said, as Seulgi let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in. Joohyun reached past the center console to take her hand. With a patient smile, she asked, “Why are you so nervous?”

“I just really want to make a good impression - you love them so much, and I know they love you so much too. If they don’t like me for you, I’ll be…” Seulgi sighed, taking a breath to steady her nerves. She met Joohyun’s gaze and even though her eyes were kind and understanding, Seulgi still felt exposed. “I’ll be devastated. I don’t want to lose you.”

Joohyun quickly shook her head. “That’s not going to happen. I’m _sure_ they’ll love you. All they want is for some to make me happy and taken care of, and you do both. And you’ll never lose me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Seulgi, this is a big step for me too. I’ve never introduced anyone to my parents.”

This was news to Seulgi - although they’d talked about their past relationships, they never talked about _this_. Joohyun’s last relationship was serious - she and Jennie had been together for over a year. 

“Not even Jennie?”

Joohyun shook her head. “Not her. Just _you_.” 

The confession made Seulgi take a breath in, then let it out. Like all the anxiety she had left her body and was replaced with the comfort of Joohyun’s words. 

Joohyun held Seulgi’s hand as they walked up to the house, with their shared luggage being tugged by Seulgi. 

“Let’s do this,” Seulgi said, raising her hand to knock on the door. 

Before Seulgi’s fist could make an impact, a woman - almost a mirror of Joohyun, with her nose and complexion and bright smile - opened the door and started gushing.

“Joohyun-ah! Your girlfriend is so beautiful! Come in, come in!” 

A man - grinning cheerfully - stood closely behind. 

“Umma, appa - this is Kang Seulgi. My girlfriend,” Joohyun introduced, keeping her hand in Seulgi’s own, giving her a squeeze of assurance. 

Seulgi politely bowed. 

“Thank you for welcoming me into your home.” 

“It is so nice to meet the woman who my daughter is so taken with!” Joohyun’s father said, with a cheerful, loud voice that she definitely recognized in Joohyun.

“_Appa!_” Joohyun whined.

“Girls, come put your things in Joohyun-ah’s old room and then we can chat,” Joohyun’s umma interrupted, taking Seulgi’s arm and linking hers into it. “And then once you’re both settled we can talk about when you’re going to make an honest woman out of our oldest daughter.”

“_Umma!” _Joohyun cried out, now pouting. 

Seulgi just grinned at the very warm welcome from Joohyun’s parents and let herself be led away by Joohyun’s mother.

  
  


** ** _Three. _ ** **

Seulgi thought that they’d be asleep by now.

In fact, up until a half an hour ago, she thought they were finished. 

Both of them had been panting; Seulgi was a little drained from the orgasm that Joohyun expertly gave to her. Her eyes even started to droop a little. But then Joohyun turned to her and made a request that Seulgi couldn’t refuse. 

And that’s how she found herself hovering over her beautiful girlfriend while wearing a black leather harness around her hips, with a modestly-sized purple dildo firmly attached to it. 

Seulgi took the bottle of lube and squeezed it into her palm, before running it up and down the toy. 

“Are you ready?” she asked; Joohyun replied by frantically nodding her head _yes_. 

“_Fuck_,” Joohyun keened out as the silicone slid into her. 

Seulgi shuddered as Joohyun clutched at her back. She slowly thrusted down, inching the dildo deeper as she groaned beneath her. 

“You okay?” 

“Yes, god yes. Just go slow, okay?” 

“Of course.” 

Seulgi pulled out slightly then gently pressed forward, listening and feeling for Joohyun’s cues for more. Like when she tightened her fingers and her nails dug into Seulgi’s upper back. Or when she whimpered and groaned when Seulgi reached her fingers between their bodies, stimulating Joohyun’s bundle of nerves. 

Seulgi’s skilled hips gently fucked her into the bed. Her thrusts were long and deep; every time they used the strap-on, Joohyun loved the slow feeling of being completely filled. Seulgi moved slowly and deliberately, favoring Joohyun’s low, drawn-out moans for now. 

Joohyun’s louder cries of pleasure were for later. Soon, but not quite yet. 

For now she took advantage of the slow, rolling pace by exploring her mouth with her own, licking languidly past Joohyun’s parted lips. Seulgi’s hips and her tongue were both working together to coax _incredible_ whimpers from Joohyun. She was clutching so tightly to Seulgi’s back, she was sure her nails were leaving marks. 

_Fuck_, she was so sexy. 

Seulgi could tell that Joohyun was beginning to lose herself; she began to roll her hips along with Seulgi, meeting her thrust by thrust. Then Seulgi came up with a brilliant plan. 

The desperate noise of disapproval when Seulgi pulled out only spurred her on more. Before Joohyun could question her, she rolled Joohyun onto her side, with Seulgi lying behind her. 

Always so proactive, Joohyun’s leg was already raised slightly. Seulgi knew it was an invitation for her to enter her again.

This time, the dildo was met with no resistance. Joohyun was even wetter than before. Seulgi was a little jealous of the strap-on, actually. She loved feeling how wet Joohyun could get around her fingers.

But that was for another time. 

Joohyun’s moans told her that the immediate, steady, slightly firmer and faster pace that her hips took on was _exactly_ what she needed. 

“_God_, Seulgi don’t stop,” Joohyun cried. 

Seulgi was so involved in pleasing Joohyun. Her mind was split in three directions. She focused on increasing the pace of her hips, keeping her hips arched upwards so the bulbous tip of the dildo pressed against Joohyun’s g-spot. She made sure to keep rubbing her fingers against Joohyun’s clit, in small circles that always drove her crazy. Finally, she couldn’t stop kissing the woman in her embrace, savouring every expanse of skin she could reach. 

She pounded and with every thrust, Joohyun’s cries became louder and more frantic. The force of Joohyun’s center squeezing around the dildo almost pushed it out entirely. That made Seulgi keep her thrusts hard, short and fast. The change of intensity only pushed Joohyun closer to the edge. 

Then, with Seulgi’s hips pistoning into her, her fingers stimulating her clit, her other hand focused on pinching and flicking her nipples and her mouth sucking a love mark into the valley between Joohyun’s shoulder and neck, Joohyun came. 

It was with a string of moans, swears and Seulgi’s name, all yelled out like a prayer of desperation, Joohyun exploded from within in a way that made Seulgi feel powerful and smug and _so _in love. 

Only _she_ got to make Joohyun feel like this. No one but her.

She slowed her pace as Joohyun’s moans became more subdued, drawing out her pleasure for as long as she could, until Joohyun reached behind her for her ass, stilling her. 

“Stop. If I come again, I’ll pass out,” she warned. Seulgi just grinned and gently pulled the dildo out. 

She undid the straps of the toy and removed it from her hips, tossing it onto their nightstand. As soon as it was off and completely away, Joohyun curled up into Seulgi’s arms. 

“It was amazing,” Joohyun breathed out. 

Seulgi nodded and pressed a kiss to Joohyun’s forehead, not even bothering to hide her smile. “I had a great time.” 

“Ugh, you get so proud after you strap me,” Joohyun groaned, burying her face into her shoulder. 

“Can you blame me?” Seulgi asked, looking down at her beautiful girlfriend. Joohyun was pouting up at her, so Seulgi had no choice but to kiss her frown away.

And the frown immediately disappeared.

But before it could deepen - and yes, Seulgi could absolutely go again - Joohyun pulled away.

“We have to get up for work in like, three hours.”

_“Damn it.” _

  
  


** ** _Four._ ** **

Seulgi woke up to the sound of waves crashing on the ocean, the sun and blue sky’s peering through the curtains. It was at just the right angle that the light hit Seulgi’s face, but not in an unpleasant way. 

That said though, nothing could ruin Seulgi’s mood for the foreseeable future. She would be riding high on the events of yesterday for a long time.

It was, after all, her wedding day. 

When she looked next to her, she was greeted with the beautiful sight of her new wife, peacefully sleeping with a little smile gracing her face.

She could count on one hand the times she had woken up before Joohyun. But she woke up easily that morning. Being asleep meant that she wasn’t about to look at her, and well, that was a waste of time.

Seulgi couldn’t tell how long she spent lying in bed, doing nothing but staring at her wife and counting her blessings. But when Joohyun finally woke up and Seulgi could look into her deep, warm eyes, she couldn’t help but grin. 

“Good morning, wifey,” Seulgi quietly greeted.

“Mmm,” Joohyun murmured, with a little stretch. “I like that a lot. Good morning, my wife.” 

Seulgi pressed a kiss to her forehead and Joohyun moved into her embrace, holding her tight. Bare skin was pressed against bare skin, a reminder of their late night celebratory activities. 

“How does it feel to be married?” Seulgi cheekily asked. 

“Pretty good. How are you feeling?”

She answered honestly. “Like the luckiest woman in the world.”

Surrounded by their most cherished loved ones - their parents, siblings, friends and family - Seulgi and Joohyun had a beautiful wedding ceremony in Guam.

Their closest friends each prepared a special way to give them tribute. Wendy sang a beautiful and romantic song at their reception. Sooyoung prepared an eloquent and heartfelt speech. Yerim somehow figured out that she could become ordained to perform marriages online and was their officiant. 

After a delicious meal and an even more delicious cake, the two newly married women danced into the early hours of the morning with their guests, all of whom travelled the 3,000 kilometres to celebrate with them.

Then after their reception, Seulgi and Joohyun stayed up a little longer, just the two of them, to well..._consummate_ the marriage. 

And now it was morning. The first day of the rest of their lives. 

In a lot of ways, nothing changed. 

Seulgi was as committed to Joohyun as she ever was.

But damn it, it was _nice_ to call her ‘wife.’ 

“What’s the plan for today?” Joohyun asked, interrupting her thoughts. 

“Well, I was thinking we could go downstairs for breakfast and then go to the beach for the rest of the morning. Then when it’s too hot out this afternoon, I’ve booked a couples massage…”

“Mmm nice…” Joohyun said appreciatively. 

“And then we can come back here and relax for a bit…”

“Just a bit?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Well, our parents wanted us to join them for dinner...”

Joohyun pouted. “Who’s genius idea was it for us to have our wedding and honeymoon at the same place?” 

It was Joohyun’s, but Seulgi wasn’t exactly going to say that to her new wife.

Instead, she palcated the woman in her arms with another kiss on her forehead and a little tightening of her embrace. 

“I know, having them around for the week will be strange…” 

“Having _everyone_ around for our honeymoon will be strange,” Joohyun sighed. “My sister and Yerim want us to go shopping with them tomorrow.”

“And Wendy and Sooyoung want us to go parasailing with them at some point...” 

“Plus, I’m worried that your brother and Johnny have been getting along too well. I’m sure they’ll try to rope us into something with the rest of the boys later…” 

“Not to mention our parents.”

Joohyun shifted out of the embrace and propped herself up on her elbow to peering down at Seulgi. Her hair fell down in luscious waves, like a curtain surrounding her face.

“When will we have time for ourselves?” she asked, her bottom lip pouted out. 

“Uh… when we go back to Seoul?” Seulgi shrugged, smiling a little.

Joohyun laughed. 

“I guess it could be worse; it really is sweet that everyone wanted to be part of our wedding and come here.”

“Right? I didn’t expect _everyone_ to come,” Seulgi said. Even though their RSVPs came in months ago, seeing everyone she loved as she stood at the altar with Joohyun still made her heart soar. “And I didn’t expect both our dads to be crying!”

“Really?” Joohyun asked. “I thought they’d cry harder.”

“True. It was pretty on-brand for them…” 

“So let’s try to spend time with everyone during the day but keep our nights to ourselves…”

Seulgi grinned, mirroring the mischievous look Joohyun gave her. She clasped her fingers on the nape of Joohyun’s neck and brought their lips together. 

“Hmm, what exactly do you have in mind for our nights?” she asked, just as Joohyun teased her tongue against her bottom lip. 

“Let me give you a preview right now…” 

Seulgi was immediately swept up into the _unbelievably_ soft lips of her wife, letting her lead as she nipped and licked, seeming to make it her mission to make Seulgi a panting mess beneath her. It was working, of course.

Joohyun knew exactly what to do to make Seulgi weak. 

The woman was probably getting exactly what she wanted out of Seulgi, who was reciprocating as best she could under the circumstances (Seulgi always found it difficult to think when Joohyun was doing _that thing_ with her tongue while also doing _that thing_ with her fingers in her hair). Seulgi was _just about_ to take control of the situation, when a loud pounding on their door pulled them out of their bubble. The booming voice from the hallway made them break apart. 

_“Moms! Let’s get breakfast!” _It was clearly Yerim’s voice and Joohyun groaned, dropping her head onto Seulgi’s chest.

“Shh, don’t make a sound, maybe she’ll leave…” Seulgi whispered.

_“We know you’re in there!” _Now it was Sooyoung’s voice. 

Then a text buzzed from Joohyun’s phone on their nightstand. 

Joohyun grabbed her phone and rolled her eyes. “Wendy texted - she said that a bunch of the guys are already at the breakfast buffet, and she’s afraid that Jungwoo is going to take all the pancakes.”

Seulgi perked up a little. “Pancakes?” 

Joohyun laughed at Seulgi’s reaction. Then she yelled towards the door. “We’ll be there in 10 minutes!”

_“We’ll give you 20, you two finish up, horny newlyweds!_” Yerim’s voice replied loudly - surely now everyone on their floor knew now. 

Joohyun grumbled. 

“How big is this resort? Do you think we could hide from everyone for a week?”

  
  


** ** _Five._ ** **

With bleary eyes, Seulgi made her way through the dark apartment towards the sound of her crying baby. Despite being barely awake herself, she tried to get to the nursery quickly, lest her daughter wake up her wife and their three-year-old son. 

When she reached the room, she quickly entered and softly shut the door behind her, peering into the crib at the loudspeaker that woke her up at two in the morning. 

Baby Jiwoo.

“For a tiny thing, you’re _really_ loud,” Seulgi said, cooing a little at her daughter. “Just like your _umma_.” 

Her one-month-old continued to cry, unimpressed with her mama, until the woman picked her up and held her close to her. Seulgi gently swayed with the baby against her chest; she was a little fussy still, but the proximity to Seulgi seemed to have calmed her down a bit. 

Seulgi carried her to the kitchen, knowing that her little girl woke up due to hunger. If Jiwoo inherited Joohyun’s volume, Seulgi thought that Jiwoo probably inherited Seulgi’s ferocious appetite.

She’d been known to be hangry to the point of tears, a few times in her life.

(Which is totally why Joohyun was perfect for her. All these years into their relationship, Joohyun always carried snacks with her, just in case.)

With the tiny bundle cradled in one arm, she took the bottle of milk from the fridge and put it in the bottle warmer. 

“You’re going to wait just four minutes for this, okay, Jiwoo?” she said to her baby, pacing around in the kitchen, rocking her gently. “I can sing to you a few of your _Imo_ Wendy’s songs. Maybe _Light Me Up?_” 

The one-month-old looked up at her with no expression - she was a baby after all - then she yawned, as if already bored of her mama. 

“Wow, she’s going to be offended by your reaction, baby,” Seulgi joked. 

“Well maybe she’s more of a _Spring Love_ fan. You can take Wendy’s lines, I’ll sing Eric’s parts?” Joohyun suggested from the behind Seulgi, making her turn around at her arrival. 

“Did we wake you?” Seulgi asked, guiltily. She wanted Joohyun to rest - it had only been a few weeks since she gave birth and Seulgi made it her mission to be the one to get up in the morning for all of Jiwoo’s feedings. It was the least she could do for her wife. 

Joohyun gave Seulgi a quick kiss on the lips before kissing her daughter on her forehead.

“It’s fine; Jiwoo is _loud_,” Joohyun said, grabbing the now-warm baby bottle from the warmer and handing it to her. “Plus I really don’t mind getting up, Seulgi-ya. I like spending time with my girls.” 

Seulgi’s eyes went into happy crescents then she whispered to her daughter, who was now enjoying her bottle. “Your _umma_ is so greasy.”

Joohyun rolled her eyes - Seulgi knew she definitely would’ve hit her if she wasn’t holding their baby - and then led the two to the living room so that Seulgi could comfortably sit and feed their daughter. 

They sat on the couch, Jiwoo lying on a nursing pillow on Seulgi’s lap with Seulgi holding the bottle for her. Joohyun rested her head on Seulgi’s shoulder and watched.

“So when are the girls getting Seojun later?” Seulgi asked quietly, so as not to disturb her eating and (finally) relaxed baby. 

“Sooyoung and Wendy are coming by at 10 to get him and then they’re meeting Yerim at the park,” Joohyun said. 

Their friends insisted on helping the new mothers by taking their favourite nephew out. The girls said they wanted to give them a break from their oldest (who was definitely a sweetheart and already a protective big brother - but he also had _a lot _of energy). 

Sooyoung also said that they wanted to teach him how to not be completely no-jam. Yerim added that they were worried, because of who his mothers were. Wendy added ‘_lol’_. 

Seulgi felt a little offended by their reasons, but also appreciated their forward-thinking (she didn’t want a no-jam child either!). Her emotions were a little confusing. 

Then Seulgi realized - if the girls were going to take him out for a few hours, that meant… 

“So what does that mean for us?”

“_Well_, barring any interruption from this tiny loud thing, we get to have time to ourselves.”

Seulgi grinned. “_Nice._ Is it bad that I’m excited for nap time?”

“Nope, that’s what I was thinking too,” Joohyun replied, matching her smile. 

The two continued to quietly chat. Moments like these were easily some of Seulgi’s favourite times with Joohyun. From when they first had Seojun and now with Jiwoo, the two would always use these quiet moments to just talk. 

Seulgi and Joohyun would talk about everything and anything. Their son and now their daughter. About their friends and family. About each other. About the life of love they’d built together.

Even after all these years, they never got tired of each other’s stories and ideas and perspectives. 

Soon Jiwoo was finished and settled, and the two were back in their bed after having put their sleeping daughter back in her crib.

Conscious not to put any pressure on Joohyun’s midsection, which was still sensitive from giving birth, Seulgi lay close to Joohyun, with the two sharing a pillow. She was tired and she knew Joohyun was too. But then she had a passing but sincere sleepy thought that just _had_ to share with Joohyun. 

She murmured, blearily, “I’m glad I get to spend my three-in-the-mornings with you. And my three-in-the-afternoon’s and my ten-in-the-evenings. I’m just glad to spend all my time with you.” 

“I’m glad too, my cute, sleepy bear,” Joohyun answered sleepily - but Seulgi could tell she was touched. 

They were both quickly dozing off - but not before they could wish each other a good night. Or, actually, since it was nearing 3 am-

“Good morning, Joohyunnie. I love you.” 

“I love you too. Good morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


	6. Keep a window for me open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seulgi's dream of opening her own dance studio has finally come true. It was the perfect space and the perfect location - because right across the street lived a cute girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Window by Carly Rae Jepsen. (Also this is unbeta'd!)

It was her dream. Being able to dance for a living was something Seulgi had always wanted to do. Then she got her big break when she was just nineteen years old as a back-up dancer. She got to tour the world, work with top choreographers, and learn from some of the best artists in the industry. She used all of her connections and creative fuel to open Uncover Dance Studio.

It was amazing.

Seulgi and her business partners and fellow choreographers, Yeri and Hyoyeon, chose this location for a few reasons. It was centrally located, not only near the big agencies but also in areas where Idols and other dancers liked to hang out. The studio itself was a large enough space to teach up to fifty people at one time, but still feel intimate. 

The design was customized by the three women - from hardwood floors that were engineered to absorb the hardest stomp and support the lightest pirouette, to lights that filled the room with a warm glow for big classes but could also dim and soften for more intimate lessons. It also had beautiful large windows that let in natural light, which Seulgi loved. She liked having her lessons or dance sessions during the day so that she could let the sun fill the space up.

The big windows gave Seulgi some of her best ideas. She always felt like a bit of a sunflower, needing the light to charge her energy and fuel her creativity. 

And it was just a few days after opening that the windows gave Seulgi a brilliant idea. 

Most of their classes had been booking decently well. They weren’t sold out, but they had a solid following due to their social media accounts. Seulgi knew that they could promote themselves better. She wondered - what could they do to draw in the local community? 

On a whim, Seulgi grabbed an unused big whiteboard from the office, grabbed a few different coloured markers and brought it to the dance studio window. She’d been in between classes - the next group of dancers wouldn’t come in for another hour - and Hyoyeon left to grab the two of them some iced coffees from the cafe downstairs. 

When Seulgi was left to her own devices, she could let her brilliance shine. 

After drawing a quick doodle and scribbling a message, she propped the whiteboard facing out towards the building across the street and the people below. It read: 

_‘Who do ghosts like to dance with? Their boos.’ _Two happy, dancing ghosts accompanied the message. She also included the dance studio’s website, just in case. 

Seulgi loved corny jokes. Did it make everyone around her cringe and did it earn her a reputation for being no-jam? Yes. Could she be helped? Not at all. Not when dancing puns...swept her off her feet. (See?! _So funny.)_

When Hyo came back with their coffees in her hands, she cringed when she saw what Seulgi had done. Hyoyeon nearly made her take it away, but even she couldn’t resist it when Seulgi pouted a little.

(Seulgi was glad it was Hyo who saw it first and _not_ Yeri, because her younger friend would’ve bullied her into taking it down.)

Seulgi was vindicated soon after. By day’s end, they had four new sign ups for their Beginners Contemporary Pop class. So she took the success with the whiteboard as encouragement and changed up the sign every few days.

_‘Why did the bicycle have a hard time dancing? It was two-tired!’_

_‘How do you make a tissue dance? You put a little boogie in it!’_

_‘Don’t just waltz into our room. First, listen if the music is in 4/4!’_

This week her sign featured two lettuce heads dancing together with, ‘_Lettuce dance!’ _written underneath. 

She was pretty proud of it. 

-

The windows also had another benefit. Yes, they let the sunlight in and yes, they let her tell some of her best jokes. But they also looked out into the building next to them. While that itself wasn’t a draw - the view was of the apartment across the street - there was something there that often transfixed Seulgi. 

Every time she stood at the front of the main dance studio room, against the wall of mirrors, her line of sight would drift over to the window. She would find herself looking at the same balcony.

That balcony always had the same gorgeous woman sitting at a table on it with her laptop open. Whatever she was working on had her rapt attention, as she was often peering closely at it, reading it with her eyebrows (cutely) furrowed. 

Seulgi was a hopeless, gay mess when it came to beautiful women and this woman was no exception. Even with Seulgi’s terrible eyesight, this particular lady was giving her heart palpitations. 

How could a woman be _so_ beautiful, even from thirty feet away? 

Seulgi’s attraction to the woman didn’t mean that she could act on her feelings though. It’s not like they would ever meet. The woman never seemed to leave her house. When the weather was nice, like it was most days that May, the woman was on her balcony. When the weather was less nice, she was inside at her desk which looked out onto her balcony.

She wasn’t _always_ watching the woman. That’d be weird... 

She was just observant. It was normal.

Seulgi also - _ahem_ \- observed that the woman seemed to work nonstop. She was almost always typing away or reading voraciously, and consuming a _shocking_ amount of coffee (or tea, Seulgi couldn’t tell). She often wore glasses, sometimes chewed on her bottom lip when she was lost in thought, and would jump adorably whenever she was startled by the street sounds below. 

Uh. Okay. On second thought, maybe Seulgi’s observational skills were a little much.

-

Seulgi couldn’t help herself that morning. As she waited for her first class of the day - their Beginners Hip Hop class for children - she sipped her iced coffee and stared out the window. Her attention was fully on the enigmatic stranger across the street. It was Saturday, which is why Seulgi assumed she was reading a book instead of working feverishly on her laptop.

Today she was wearing her glasses. They gave her an intellectual vibe that Seulgi found irresistible. That woman was just _really_ beautiful.

“What are you looking at?”

Seulgi jumped, probably two feet off the ground. She turned next to her to see Yeri, grinning past her shoulder. 

“What? Nothing,” Seulgi said, trying to stand in front of her to block her line of sight. 

“Nothing? You completely spaced out there, Seulgi-_unnie_. What’s there?” Yeri easily pushed Seulgi aside (she was surprisingly strong for such a tiny human) and gasped - and then cackled. “Wow, a pretty girl. _Of course_ you’re a distracted mess.”

“A pretty girl? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Seulgi said, faking confusion. 

“Seulgi-_unnie_, don’t do that, you’re not a good liar,” Yeri said, with a placating pat on Seulgi’s shoulder. “Focus up, kids are starting to show up and your class starts in like 10 minutes. Do you think you’ll be to keep your lesbian laser beam eyes off of our poor neighbour for the next hour?”

“Shut up.”

-

As fate would have it, Seulgi would eventually meet the beautiful girl from the balcony from across the street. 

Seulgi and her staff were working on choreographing a big award show number for Idols from different groups and had been hard at work for quite some time. After losing a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors against everyone else, Seulgi was tasked to go to the cafe downstairs to get sustenance (iced coffee) for everyone. 

She ordered the drinks and moved down the line to wait for the baristas to make them. She briefly looked up to give a polite nod at the customer after her, who took her place beside her. Then she realized, with a gasp- 

“You’re the girl across the street!” Seulgi said, without thinking. “The one who’s always working on her balcony!”

The dancer immediately blushed, realizing her outburst and registering the woman’s confused expression. 

“What? Excuse me?” the woman asked, her eyes widening, in a way that Seulgi could only assume was full of terror. “You’ve _watched_ me?!” 

_Oh god_. Why would Seulgi tell her that?! Now the woman is going to think she was some leering, gross weirdo! 

Damn her observational skills!

“N_-no_!” Seulgi sputtered, embarrassed. “My dance studio is across the street and I’ve seen you a few times, _that’s all_!” 

Then a look of realization passed on the neighbour’s face. 

“Oh! You’re the dancer! You’re all so _amazing_ \- sometimes I’ve seen you dance. Wow,” the woman enthused, which made Seulgi’s blush only deepen. 

“You’ve seen _me?!”_ Now it was Seulgi’s turn to be incredulous. 

“Our buildings are _really_ close together, I guess,” the woman offered, sheepishly. “What’s your name?” 

“Seulgi.” 

“I’m Joohyun. Welcome to the neighbourhood!”

-

While the two waited, Seulgi got to know a little bit more about Joohyun. She was a book editor who worked from home, which explained why she was always around. She didn’t like feeling stuffed up in her apartment all day, so she liked working on her balcony when the weather was nice. Lately though, she liked working on her balcony to watch Seulgi’s dance classes across the street. 

“Even though I can’t hear the music, the visuals are _stunning_,” she gushed, which made Seulgi blush. Before she could thank her properly for the compliment, the dancer’s order of drinks were ready in two cup holder trays. 

“I didn’t think this through, I should’ve made someone come with me…” Seulgi muttered, as she tried to figure out how to hold all six drinks, push buttons on the elevator, open doors…

“I’ll help!” Joohyun offered, as she only had the one drink that quickly followed Seulgi’s order. 

Seulgi graciously accepted and allowed her to grab one of the trays, while expertly keeping hold of her own drink. (Seulgi was impressed - for a woman with tiny hands, she could carry a surprising amount of things.)

The dancer led them out of the coffee shop and to the doorway for the building’s upper tenants. They entered the elevator and Seulgi hit the “2” button with her elbow. 

“Are you the one who writes the dancing jokes?” Joohyun asked, as they went up. 

Seulgi smiled, ready for the compliments. It was always nice to hear from people who appreciated her genius. 

“I am,” Seulgi replied, proudly puffing out her chest. 

“So you’re no jam?” Joohyun then asked, with a cheeky grin. 

“What?” Seulgi exclaimed, frowning. “The puns are _hilarious!_”

“Are they? Really?” Joohyun teased.

“They are!” Seulgi insisted. “Plus, people have seen the sign from the street and they think they’re great! We’ve had some sign ups from it! You should promote _your_ business with puns!”

Joohyun laughed and shook her head. “Uh, no thank you...” 

The dancer frowned, incredulously. “Everyone’s against the puns but I _swear_ they’re successful.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so!” Seulgi pouted, partly because her feelings were _slightly_ hurt, but mostly because Joohyun seemed to think Seulgi was cute when she did so - if Seulgi was judging her twinkling eyes and cute giggle correctly. “I thought we were going to be neighbourhood friends, Joohyun-_ssi_.” 

Joohyun only laughed more. “I’m sorry, you’re right - you’re not ‘no jam,’” Joohyun said, still playful with her tone. “Can we be friends now?”

Seulgi dramatically sighed. “_Fine.” _Then Seulgi remembered a particularly bad pun she read on the internet recently, “I’m just glad I got my iced Americano, because after your comment I’m feeling a little _depresso_…” 

The dancer laughed as her neighbour and potential new friend cringed at her amazing joke. They reached the second floor and Seulgi walked them towards her studio doors, still grinning. 

“Thank god we’re here, I don’t think I can take your jokes anymore, Seulgi-_ssi_…” Joohyun teased, following her as they entered the lobby, earning a laugh out of Seulgi. 

_“Sustenance!” _

Yeri’s loud voice interrupted Seulgi from replying to Joohyun. Yeri and Hyoyeon rushed out of the studio room to get their drinks, the music’s bass thumping in the other room. Seulgi could see that the other dancers were still hard at work. 

“Hi! You’re the pretty lady that Seulgi-_unnie _likes to look at! What are you doing here?” Yeri asked, her sweet smile saving her from seeming too abrupt and rude. Seulgi’s eyes widened and she turned to Joohyun, who just nodded and smiled politely, a little blush dusting her cheeks.

“She’s exaggerating!” Seulgi defended. (And despite wincing at what Yeri said, Seulgi couldn’t help but think ‘_wow’_, because Joohyun was really cute when she blushed.) 

“I’m just here to help Seulgi-_ssi _with all the drinks…” 

“Joohyun_-ssi,_ this is Yeri and Hyo-_unnie_. They’re co-owners of the studio with me,” Seulgi explained. “She was nice enough to help me when she saw how much I was struggling!” 

“Sorry, Seulgi-_unnie_,” Yeri said, both her and Hyoyeon looking a little sheepish. “We realized when you left that someone should’ve gone with you, but then it ended up being an argument between all of us...”

“We figured you’d be fine though,” Hyoyeon said, with a sly grin at Seulgi. Then she turned to Joohyun. “She’s so cute, right? Like a damsel in distress-slash-teddy bear. We knew someone would come to her rescue. You must be her knight in shining glasses.” 

(Seulgi huffed. She was not a damsel nor was she a teddy bear, and she didn’t know what comparison annoyed her more.)

Joohyun just laughed, her cheeks still rosy pink. “I suppose I am. And some of these drinks must be yours?”

Yeri happily hopped over and grabbed the tray from Joohyun’s hands. “You have mine and some of the others! Thank you!”

“And _you_,” Hyoyeon said, taking Seulgi’s tray, “have the rest of ours. Thanks!”

Seulgi quickly took her own drink off the tray before Hyoyeon turned to bring them to the dancers in the studio. 

“Thank you, Joohyun-_ssi_ from across the street!” Hyo said as she and Yeri left, leaving Seulgi and Joohyun alone in the lobby. They could hear the cheers from the other dancers from their coffee delivery, as the door swung open and closed. 

All Seulgi could do was let out a breath - being tag-teamed by those two was always mentally exhausting - and she turned to Joohyun. To her surprise, the woman was already looking up at her with a big smile. 

“Well, it was nice meeting you and your coworkers,” Joohyun said, taking a sip of her iced tea. “I should get back…”

“You have to go?” Seulgi asked, before really thinking. Of course she had to go. _Seulgi_ had to go, she had to dance and choreograph and get actual work done, instead of looking at the cute woman next to her. 

“Manuscripts don’t read themselves,” Joohyun said, offhandedly. “I’ll see you around though?”

It was a question and Seulgi couldn’t even second guess the hopefulness in Joohyun’s tone. 

So she made a promise. 

“You will, definitely. Even if it’s just me waving at you from my window.” 

The way that Joohyun’s smile lit up and her eyes twinkled from behind her glasses made Seulgi’s entire body come alive with a burst of happiness. 

-

The next day, Seulgi’s sign read: _‘Where does a snowman dance? At a snowball.’_

A few minutes after Seulgi changed the whiteboard, a new sign appeared across the street hanging off of Joohyun’s balcony rail. 

_‘Past, present, and future walked into a bar. It was tense.’_

Seulgi was sure her smile looked dorky and that she laughed _way _too hard but she couldn’t help it. 

That was just the start.

A few days after, Seulgi drew something new. A couple of dancing corgis with the word ‘_corgiography’_ written underneath. 

Then Joohyun updated her sign, less than an hour later. Seulgi giggled. 

“‘When I think about books, I touch my shelf,’” Seulgi read outloud.

Behind her, Hyo and Yeri laughed. “Wow, your crush is funnier than you are,” Hyoyeon said, as she stood next to Seulgi.

“Yeah, your girlfriend is clever,_” _Yeri added, also sliding up beside her.

“She’s not my crush and she’s not my girlfriend, but she _is_ funny.” 

Almost like she could sense they were talking about her, Joohyun looked up from her laptop and gave the three women a shy wave, which the dancers returned enthusiastically. Seulgi, in particular, was excited in her response - she pointed at Joohyun’s sign and gave her a big thumbs up.

Joohyun’s eyes crinkled and she laughed. Seulgi wished so badly that she could hear it.

(Well, Hyo and Yeri were partially right. She was definitely her crush but definitely not her girlfriend.)

Seulgi’s next update: _‘Sorry about my music puns - it’s not my forte.’_

And Joohyun’s? 

_‘Why are book editors so cold? Too many drafts.’_

It was _their thing_. Seulgi would write a sign - and usually Joohyun would stand at her balcony and wait with a big grin. Seulgi would show it to her, give her a thumbs up, and wait for Joohyun’s response. 

Even without talking, the two developed a friendship made of bad jokes and happy smiles from thirty feet apart. 

-

Seulgi was lost in the music, dancing by herself. As the song played on repeat in the background, she let her body move as if it was controlled only by the sounds swirling around her. This was her process as a choreographer: she immersed herself in the music and used the emotions that were naturally pulled out of her to guide her movements. This technique led to her most impactful work, what became known as KSP style - _Kang Seulgi Performance _style. 

It was past 9 pm and she was by herself. Her partners had left - Hyoyeon left for the day, as she was opening the next day with her early morning dance class. Yeri had left just for a bit, to grab some take-out for the two as she helped Seulgi refine the dance. 

She was so absorbed in what she was doing, watching herself in the mirror and finalizing the choreo for the last chorus, when she looked up and nearly jumped. 

Standing at the doorway with an intrigued, but sheepish grin was her charming neighbour. 

“Joohyun?!” Seulgi quickly grabbed her phone out of her pocket and turned off the music, which was attached to the studio’s Bluetooth sound system. 

“Sorry if I’m interrupting - I saw from across the street you were still here and came over. The studio’s front door was unlocked… Anyway, _wow_. That looked amazing. You’re incredible, Seulgi_-ssi_.”

“Uh, thank you.” Seulgi self-consciously ducked her head down, trying to hide her blush.

“Why are you being shy? I’m sure you hear compliments all the time…”

“Just… not from someone like _you_.” Seulgi cleared her throat and thankfully Joohyun didn’t press for an explanation. “Wanna learn it?”

“Um, what makes you think I could do anything like _that_?”

“You can! It’s not that hard. I’ll just teach you the chorus,” Seulgi offered, excitedly - she _loved_ teaching, after all. “Plus, you have a graceful way of moving, I can tell you’re a natural.”

This time it was Joohyun’s cheeks that reddened. “I was going to ask how you even knew that, but then I remembered that sometimes you can see me too…” 

“I’m sorry. I know, it seems weird but I promise, I’m not being creepy-”

“I know, you’re _fine_. Don’t worry. I mean, I watch you too. All of you. I watch you all dance,” Joohyun said, taking a step forward. “Now, teach me.” 

Seulgi smiled, wide and happy and she gestured to the spot next to her in front of the wall of mirrors. She took her phone out of her pocket once again and scrolled back to the chorus. 

“Let me show you the ‘point choreography’, it’s really easy.” 

As Seulgi danced, she was hyper aware that Joohyun was watching her closely. She was looking at herself in the mirror, but from her peripheral vision, she could see Joohyun’s eyes trace up and down her body, as if she was committing her body line to memory. 

While she was used to being watched - she danced and performed for a living, in front of thousands of people, this gaze was something different. 

Dancing for Joohyun was one of the most intimate things Seulgi had ever done. The choreography itself was not overtly sexual, but Joohyun’s stare was intense nonetheless. Like she was looking straight into her core and seeing all of her innermost secrets.

It was unsettling but at the same time… Seulgi liked it. 

After showing her the chorus’ dance moves a few times, she reached out for Joohyun to join her. The woman’s smile was apprehensive but she still allowed Seulgi to lead her to the front of the mirrors. 

“It’s a little weird to see you up close,” Seulgi admitted, looking at Joohyun next to her. 

“Should I have put on makeup?” she asked, timidly. 

“No, not that,” Seulgi said, quickly. “You’re gorgeous.”

Joohyun quirked up an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips. “Gorgeous?”

“I mean, you look fine,” Seulgi amended. Joohyun continued to grin a little too knowingly, much to Seulgi’s embarrassment. “I just meant that I feel like we’re kind of friends even though this is officially our second conversation.” 

Almost taking pity on Seulgi’s awkwardness, Joohyun gave her arm a friendly pat. “I feel the same way too, Seulgi-_ssi._” 

All Seulgi could do in response was smile then look back at their reflection in the mirrors. 

(Fortunately, Seulgi found it easier to look at Joohyun through the mirror than directly at her.)

The point choreography and chorus was brief - not even thirty seconds long - but Joohyun caught on quickly. She was a little stiff and her timing wasn’t perfect, which Seulgi expected since she wasn’t a trained professional. But Seulgi was also right in her prediction - Joohyun was a natural.

A few repeats and the two were moving to the chorus in sync. There _were_ a few ways that Joohyun could refine her moves though-

“Raise your hand a _little_ more,” Seulgi said, repeating the move with her arm raised and hand gracefully arched. 

“Like this?” 

“Close,” Seulgi said. Without thinking, she took on the role of dance instructor. She took a step forward and took Joohyun’s hand to place it correctly. Seulgi lifted it up, intertwining their fingers in the process. But then she realized how closely they were standing.

It was something that she’d done thousands of times with her dance students, with some of the world’s most successful Idols, and some of the most beautiful people in the world. 

But this felt different.

Their eyes locked and _wow_. Seulgi could’ve gotten lost in the deep galaxies that were within Joohyun’s gorgeous, dark eyes. She would’ve given anything to know what was behind those eyes, what secrets the woman in front of her had. 

And then she felt it. A little puff of air against her lips, and that made her realize how _close_ they were standing. She didn’t remember how it happened, but their joint hands were down, still connected but at their sides and Joohyun was staring back at her, her mouth parted, almost like she was in awe. 

They were both leaning forward, or at least Seulgi did. The last thing the dancer saw before she closed her eyes was Joohyun’s own fluttering shut, and then-

_“I got pizza!”_

The two pulled away, Seulgi impressing herself with her lightning speed, putting a not-at-all-suspicious amount of room between the two. 

-

After Yeri’s interruption, Joohyun made an excuse to leave, flustered and blushing. Fortunately, Yeri was too preoccupied with the pepperoni pizza in front of her to notice anything. (Thank god for Yeri and her intense love for pizza.)

It had been a few days since then, and Seulgi and Joohyun were still acting as nothing _at all_ happened between them. In other words - their interactions were reduced to the jokes on their signs and the occasional shy wave between them. 

Seulgi was sick of it.

Was she completely wrong to think that Joohyun was interested in her too? Probably. But not knowing for sure was driving her crazy. So she decided to do something about it.

Kind of. 

During a short fifteen minute break between classes, Seulgi noticed Joohyun was once again on her balcony. Instead of updating the whiteboard, she went to the studio’s office and grabbed a stack of paper and a marker. 

She saw something like this in a British romantic comedy, one that Yeri made her watch last Christmas. The scene was kind of romantic, in a bit of a desperate, inappropriate kind of way. 

But unlike those characters, Joohyun wasn’t married (uh, as far as Seulgi could tell), nor was Seulgi best friends with Joohyun’s “spouse” (again, Joohyun was single), so Seulgi figured that her plan leaned on the side of ‘Romantic’ versus ‘Weird’.

She hoped, at least. 

She scribbled a greeting as large as she could and then walked up to the window, ignoring Yeri and Hyoyeon’s curious eyes. She held the sheet of paper against the window and waved her hand, hoping to get her neighbour’s attention.

_‘Hey, pretty girl.’ _Seulgi’s sign read. 

Seulgi’s dorky waving seemed to have worked, because Joohyun looked up and gave Seulgi a big bright smile. Seulgi dropped the sheet and then quickly wrote on another sheet of paper. _‘What are you reading today?’_

Joohyun snickered at her antics and held up a finger. She went inside for a moment, then came back outside with a notebook for her to reply with.

_‘A manuscript for a middle school level science textbook,’ _Joohyun wrote on one of the pages, in appropriately neat handwriting. 

Of course even her handwriting was beautiful.

_‘Wow, so smart!’_ Seulgi complimented. 

_‘Uh, not really.’ _Joohyun coyly denied, but Seulgi could see that the woman appreciated the compliment. Then Joohyun turned the page over and wrote another message. ‘_Also, where are the puns? The public (me) demands it!’_

Seulgi grinned, gave her a thumbs up and then quickly scribbled another note. 

_‘Okay! I’ll get one on here ASAP!’_

-

Seulgi hoped Joohyun understood what she was trying to get at with her next sign. It was still a joke, but it had a clear message for her beautiful neighbour. 

_‘Being without you is like bad ballet. What’s the pointe?’_

-

The next day, before Seulgi even got a chance to change the sign, Joohyun updated hers.

And it made Seulgi’s heart pound. 

_‘Good thing I have my library card, because I’m checking you out!’_

-

And that’s how she found herself writing something without her better judgement (and with a lot of peer pressure from Yeri and Hyo). She put the sign up and then nervously walked away. 

_‘Joohyun, will you go out with Seulgi? _

_Yes = Smile_

_No = Do The Robot’ _

-

“Seulgi-_unnie_! Look!”

It was the end of the work day for her and nearly dinner time. She’d spent the better part of the day avoiding the window, which had been message-less every time she braved a peak. Fortunately it had been a pretty intense day of dancing for her, as the studio had been reserved to teach an up-and-coming boyband their new choreography. 

The Idols and their backup dancers had just left and left in the studio were the three owners. Seulgi and Hyoyeon were both cleaning themselves off, covered in sweat after their day. 

At Yeri’s words, the two ran to the younger woman, who was standing at the window and pointing excitedly at Joohyun’s balcony.

It was dark outside and the balcony was empty. But clear as day was the sign, written in Joohyun’s familiar handwriting: 

_‘If Seulgi-ya wrote the sign then :)_

_If she didn’t then *beep boop*’_

_-_

A little over ten minutes later - after cleaning herself up a bit, as Seulgi needed to look presentable for Joohyun - she found herself in Joohyun’s apartment. She went up the second floor and then… wait. Which one was Joohyun’s? 

She stared down the hallway, unsure which side was which and which door could possibly represent the one that Joohuyun was behind.

She looked down the hall - it was definitely one of the doors on the left… or the right. There were no windows so she wasn’t positive which direction was towards the street… hmm, no, Seulgi was right the first time. She had to have been on the left. 

Now her apartment… it was the third balcony in… or the second. 

Oh crap, she should’ve planned this better.

Okay, worse case scenario? She knocks on a stranger’s door and it’s not Joohyun and she’s embarrassed and what if Joohyun isn’t even there, she didn’t check to see if her lights were still on when she ran out of the studio… 

She took a breath.

Definitely the second door.

She raised her hand to knock, then a voice from one door down startled her. 

“What are you going?”

“AH!” Seulgi said, jumping. She turned and looked - it was Joohyun. Seulgi was _definitely_ at the wrong door. “Oh god, hi.”

“Hello,” Joohyun said, with an eyebrow quirked up. “Do you know the _halmeoni_ who lives there?”

“What? Who?”

“My neighbour. The door you were about to knock on. She’s about 92 years old but it’s nice to know you have a wide range of friends.”

Seulgi sheepishly walked over to Joohyun. 

“I was looking for you,” she explained. Then she took a breath and said. “I saw your sign…” 

Joohyun grinned. “Well come in.”

Seulgi followed the woman into her apartment, which seemed wall-to-wall with books, different plants and shrubs, and photographs of sunsets. The dancer obviously didn’t know the woman that well but she definitely could feel her presence in every inch of this space. 

They sat on the couch in Joohyun’s living room and Seulgi was at a loss for words. With Joohyun’s expectant, big eyes staring at her, it seems like all of her thoughts turned to mush. She floundered a bit, her mouth opening and closing, trying to find the right thing to say. She’d always been a mess around her crushes, and somehow with Joohyun the pressure felt even greater. 

She looked past Joohyun’s shoulder at the windowed door to the balcony. It had a decently direct view of the studio. 

“Wow you can really see our studio from here...” Seulgi said, filling the uncomfortable silence.

Joohyun quirked a questioning eyebrow. 

“Did you come here to see what your studio looked like from this angle?”

Joohyun put a kind hand on Seulgi’s knee. Almost like that gesture was magic, Seulgi managed to gather enough courage to ask, “Did you mean it? Did you really smile when you saw my sign?”

“I did. Lucky for you I _can’t_ do the robot at all...” Joohyun said, with a teasing smile. Seulgi couldn’t help but mirror it, a little surprised and all together _way_ too thrilled to even register what Joohyun was really saying between the lines. 

“So that means…” 

“In the future though, I’d prefer if you confessed to me in person and not on a sign for everyone in our neighbourhood to read.” 

“Future?” Seulgi asked, her mind still racing. Joohyun...likes her too? Really?

“Seulgi.”

“Yeah?”

“I smiled,” Joohyun said, recognizing that Seulgi was still having a difficult time processing.

“You’ll go out with me?”

Instead of answering, Joohyun brought her hand to Seulgi’s cheek. 

You know that feeling the moment right before you stepped on stage? The excitement, the uncertainty and a little bit of anxiety? That was how Seulgi felt when Joohyun leaned forward. 

But when their lips touched?

It was even better than hearing a crowd’s first loud cheer. 

Instead of feeling an adrenaline rush like she felt when she performed, it was unlike anything she’d ever felt. As a dancer who had mastered understanding her body - she was at peak health and had full body awareness - she felt completely at Joohyun’s will. Like she was floating - soaring even. Like she was made of fluttering butterflies that lifted her up as soon as Joohyun kissed her.

She could barely hold back her smile and she felt Joohyun lips turn up against her kiss as well. Their kiss soon broke as they were smiling too much, too full of happiness over _finally_ bridging the thirty-foot gap between them.

Seulgi took the pause in their kiss as a chance to take the woman in. After all, she hadn’t really been able to see her up close very often. And that was a damn shame, because Joohyun was just _so_ gorgeous. 

Like her beautiful, long, soft hair. Her big, dark eyes that twinkled so joyfully. Her lips, so full and gorgeous, even with smudged lipstick from their kiss. The coy, effortlessly sexy smile that seemed to light up even brighter in this moment. 

Joohyun looked so happy. Seulgi was so glad to see that Joohyun looked as thrilled as she felt. 

The woman reached behind Seulgi’s neck to pull her into another kiss, but Seulgi stopped her by placing her hands on Joohyun’s shoulders. 

She’d been saving this thought as a potential sign idea for Joohyun...

“I need to tell you something.”

“What?” Joohyun asked, furrowing her brow in concern. 

Seulgi cleared her throat and then grinned cheekily. “As a dancer, I usually work with the numbers _5-6-7-8 _\- but I feel like the only number I need is yours.”

Joohyun pulled away and laughed, but almost in shock. “Seriously?” she asked, visibly cringing. All Seulgi could do was smile smugly at her _amazing_ line. 

“What?!”

“Are you _always_ cheesy like this? It’s not just a whiteboard thing?” Joohyun asked. 

“But I thought you liked my puns…” Seulgi pouted. “Your signs were just as cheesy as mine!” 

“I guess you’re right.” Joohyun sighed, looking a little disappointed, and it made Seulgi’s frown deepen. “Seulgi… you’re like an overdue book. You have _fine_ written all over you.”

Seulgi gaped at Joohyun, who’s serious look turned into a mischievous smile in a split second. Seulgi was torn between laughing at the _really_ bad joke and kissing the beautiful, dorky woman in front of her, who bested her at her own game… 

So she did both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The world has been really hard lately. Take care of yourselves, everyone.
> 
> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


	7. Got You Covered (E)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long, stressful business trip, Joohyun was finally back in Seoul. Fortunately for the CEO, her assistant booked a private massage for her as soon as she arrived home. Joohyun would’ve been upset that her usual massage therapist was unavailable; but how could she when his replacement was the woman who she couldn’t get off her mind, Kang Seulgi?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from: Want You In My Room by Carly Rae Jepsen
> 
> Warning: This is the smuttiest thing I’ve ever written. I’m sorry to everyone, especially my ancestors. Also this isn't beta'd! I'm sorry about all the typos, I'll try to fix them later.
> 
> I promised I’d dedicate my next fic to @seulalisa on Twitter but friends don’t dedicate fics like these to friends. So this fic isn’t dedicated to her but the next one will be, okay??? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

The wheels of the airplane touched down at Incheon International Airport and Bae Joohyun, CEO of BAE, one of Korea’s biggest fashion houses, let out a sigh of relief. She was finally home. Joohyun had been gone for weeks, travelling around Europe and Asia. She visited every facility that BAE worked with - both directly and indirectly - to ensure that her company’s production workshops and distributors were working safely, ethically and fairly for their employees. 

Irene Bae - as Joohyun was publicly called - was known in the fashion industry to be both an incredible designer and a woman of high standards and morals. She did not take lightly to the mistreatment of the people who worked for and with her. She was especially hard on the people who rose high in the ranks. Every year she visited each of the facilities and vendors that BAE worked with, to ensure that the best were the ones she associated with her name. 

Needless to say, after the whirlwind trip, she was ready to go home and take a nice, long nap. 

With the plane landed and her able to access her data again, she scrolled through the messages that she missed. Some from her parents, wishing her a safe flight. Some from the execs who worked below her, with various work questions. Another from her Executive Assistant, Sooyoung.

Joohyun entrusted Sooyoung to help oversee BAE while she was away. Sooyoung was not only a trusted assistant but also had a keen, natural business sense that made her unstoppable. Joohyun was lucky to have her.

She felt especially lucky when she opened up the message from Sooyoung, She read it just minutes after she stepped off the plane and walked towards the baggage claim.

_‘Your driver is waiting for you. I have booked your massage therapist to arrive shortly after you return home. I will meet you at your apartment. See you soon, unnie!’_

Sooyoung was the best assistant in the world.

Eventually, Joohyun was in the backseat of her chauffeured car, sleepily scrolling through her phone and being driven back to her apartment. Her last flight was from Beijing; it wasn’t a long flight, but the days and days of travel were beginning to take its toll. 

She had half the mind to text Sooyoung to cancel her massage so she could just collapse onto her bed and sleep for days, but she decided against it. It was too difficult for her to ignore the stiffness she felt in her back from sitting on numerous flights, or the soreness of her legs from the hours of walking through countless work sites. Her body was _begging_ to be taken care of. Sleep could come later. 

Joohyun was just glad that she’d found the world’s greatest massage therapist. While she didn’t usually like being around men, Taesob was the exception. He was a _genius_ when it came to relieving all the stress knots she had. Whenever she went to him, it was like all the issues with her body disappeared. He was the only man she could trust. 

Plus it helped that he was gay and didn’t at all leer at her like most men did.

Another way she relieved her stress was through exercise - specifically, pilates. She scrolled through her calendar to check when her next class would be (a few days, thank goodness). After the weeks she took off because of work, she was ready to get back into her private sessions. Not only did she love the challenge of testing her strength, endurance, flexibility and willpower, there was also another thing she looked forward to: The beautiful woman who usually had sessions before her.

Kang Seulgi.

As intimidating and powerful as Joohyun was in the boardroom of BAE, around Kang Seulgi, she was a blushing school girl. It was a miracle that she even worked up the nerve to ask her what her name was, months ago when they first met in the studio change room.

But how could one expect Joohyun to maintain any semblance of control? Surely it was understandable, what with Seulgi’s well-defined abs. And her gorgeous body, almost like it was sculpted as an ideal representation of strength and beauty. And her smile, which seemed to light up the room whenever Joohyun was lucky enough to see it.

Joohyun _tried_ to flirt. She _tried_ to be interesting and charming around Seulgi. But like an awkward teenager, every time she talked to her, she was stilted, cold and borderline rude. It was so embarrassing. It’d even gotten to the point where Joohyun whined to Sooyoung about her _endlessly_ (which gave Sooyoung even more ammunition to tease her). 

She was a CEO who commanded the attention of thousands of people, from boardrooms to auditoriums to catwalks, sometimes all in the same day. But when it came to one Kang Seulgi, she was a meak, shy disaster. 

What was even more frustrating about the situation was that Joohyun was _certain_ that Seulgi was attracted to her. She could tell by how the woman’s eyes would follow hers in the small change room at the studio. By the way she would linger, just a little longer than needed, for the chance to talk to her. 

The way Joohyun would catch the woman watching as she started her sessions, her gaze, a smoulder, sweeping appreciatively over the toned and flexible body that the CEO worked hard to maintain.

Once Joohyun was lucky enough to have watched the woman during her own session. Joohyun arrived early, but instead of immediately getting ready, she lingered by the windows facing into the private studio that she usually worked in. Hard at work was the woman with the piercing, cat-like eyes. From what Joohyun could see, what the woman lacked in flexibility, she made up for in strength and stamina.

Joohyun could only imagine what that meant for the woman’s other capabilities. 

It was this and Seulgi’s stare that kept Joohyun up at night. During her weakest, most primal moments, when her weekly massages and pilates sessions couldn’t relieve the tension, Joohyun relied on her imagination - and her hands. In those moments, the protagonist of her fantasies were all the same woman. 

When Joohyun was alone at night, thoughts of what Kang Seulgi could do to her kept her well awake and her body alive. 

Joohyun had no shortage of potential lovers. In Seoul and every city she visited, she seemed to have attracted attention from numerous people. While she even considered taking up a few offers from the more intriguing women, none of them seemed to pique her interest as well as Seulgi did. 

When she found herself casually flirting with someone or even in a situation that could easily lead to more, her thoughts always brought her back to Seulgi. The woman who Joohyun could barely spare a few words to somehow managed to stop her from acting further than a few coy interactions. 

Even now, when she was exhausted from her trip, thinking about Kang Seulgi made Joohyun’s heart race. She took a few calming breaths before closing her eyes. Soon, she told herself, _very_ soon, she would be home and have her massage. She was just forty minutes away from her apartment. Hopefully all thoughts of work and _other_ stressors would leave her thoughts and she would be fully and completely relaxed.

If that didn’t work, well - she could look forward to some _alone time_ with her well-practiced hand. 

She _really_ needed the stress relief. 

-

“Welcome home. I have some good news and some bad news.

Joohyun pouted at Sooyoung’s greeting as she stepped into her penthouse suite, with her luggage pulled behind her.

Home sweet home. 

“Ugh. Give me the bad news first,” she whined, letting Sooyoung take the handle of her baggage to put away later. 

“_Well_,” Sooyoung drew out. “Taeseob is unable to make it - he had a family emergency that he had to attend to right away. His father broke his leg and he had to go home to help out for the weekend.” 

“Well. I hope he’s okay.” Joohyun frowned, disappointed. She couldn’t be too mad though; Taeseob had never cancelled her before and had a good excuse, after all. “I guess I’ll just draw a bath and take a nap instead…”

“That’s where my good news comes in,” Sooyoung said. “He recommended a replacement. He told me he has a friend who he said he absolutely trusts. He knows how discerning you are about these things and the person he referred is his own massage therapist.”

The CEO sighed. 

“I guess that’ll be okay. If he’s good enough for Taeseob, I’m sure he’ll be fine for me,” Joohyun said, apprehensively.

“_She_,” Sooyoung corrected. “Taeseob said he’s sending a _she_.” 

“Even better,” Joohyun said, now less uncomfortable with the idea of a new massage therapist. A _temporary_ massage therapist. She was loyal to Taeseob, of course.

“Good. She’ll be here in about a half-hour or so. Go take a shower and get that airplane stink off of you,” Sooyoung said, pushing Joohyun to her bedroom and guiding her to the ensuite (causing Joohyun to defensively yell out _‘Hey!_’). “While you do that, I’ll take care of your luggage and get the massage therapist set up for you when she arrives.”

“I don’t have ‘airplane stink’ on me,” Joohyun said as she scowled but followed Sooyoung’s orders anyway and walked into her washroom. 

“Sure you don’t, unnie,” Sooyoung placated, ending the conversation and closing the door behind her. 

-

Joohyun had to hand it to Sooyoung - the shower was very needed. A nice, long shower after a day of travelling was her favourite thing to come home to. After letting herself soak under her luxurious rainfall showerhead she felt more refreshed. It even helped wash away some of the tension she was feeling in the car ride. Thoughts of Kang Seulgi all but disappeared under the steady stream of water and Joohyun’s preferred, subtle shower scents. 

After her shower, she diligently went through her typical post-shower routine. Soon enough, she was finished and ready for her massage. 

She left her ensuite and noticed that her room was starting to dim. The sun had begun to set in Seoul, which Joohyun was glad for. She liked as much darkness as possible when she had a massage, preferring candles as the main source of light. She hoped Taeseob told his replacement that. 

Outside her bedroom door she heard voices; Sooyoung’s and an unfamiliar female voice. The massage therapist had probably arrived and was setting up in the open living room. Joohyun quickly put on some clothes - panties, sweatpants and a t-shirt - and gathered her hair into a sloppy top bun. She gave herself a quick glance in the mirror. If only her business rivals could see her now - dressed so casually and carefree, completely bare-faced. 

If she was less exhausted, she might’ve put in a _little_ effort - she was meeting a new person after all, and a first impression was important. But she was tired and it was just a massage. 

So with one last look at her reflection, she left the room. 

-

Just two steps out her bedroom door, she realized she’d made a huge mistake. She should’ve at least put on a touch of make-up or more flattering clothes.

Because standing in her living room was none other than the woman who she had been vividly daydreaming about for months.

“Kang Seulgi?” Joohyun asked, eyes wide with shock. “You’re the massage therapist?”

The woman herself looked surprised, but still managed to bow politely. 

“Joohyun-ssi?” Seulgi asked. “Taeseob told me your name was Irene…” 

“You two know each other?” Sooyoung asked, looking confused by both of their reactions. 

“We go to the same pilates studio,” Seulgi explained. Then, almost like she was embarrassed, she added, “It’s nice to see you outside of the gym. I’m usually a sweaty and gross mess whenever you see me, Joohyun-ssi…” 

“What?! That’s not true at all.” Joohyun could have laughed. “I’m usually in a rush or frazzled because I just got off work whenever I get there, so I’m glad to see you out of the studio as well…”

“Wait. Is this? From the studio?” Sooyoung asked Joohyun, using stilted words that the CEO felt were not coded at all. All Joohyun could do was glare, warningly, quietly praying that Sooyoung would just _be cool_ for like, 10 seconds. But of course, her assistant didn’t seem to care that Joohyun’s eyes were shooting daggers at her. She looked between the two women with an unnervingly sly grin. “Isn’t this just _neat?” _

Joohyun huffed and hoped that Seulgi didn’t catch on. Thank goodness, the woman just furrowed her brow cutely, looking quite confused. 

“Yes. It’s neat,” Joohyun said through gritted teeth. 

God bless Seulgi, who seemed to want to get away from whatever was going on between Joohyun and Sooyoung. She gestured at her bags and portable massage table, still folded at her feet. 

“Where can I set up?” she asked. 

“Right,” Sooyoung said, slipping back into her role as Joohyun’s assistant and not a professional shit-stirrer. “You can set up everything you need in the living room here. The washroom is just down the hall to the left. Joohyun-_unnie_, can I see you in the bedroom for just a moment?” 

Before Joohyun could reply, she was already being dragged away by Sooyoung. Damn her and her strength! 

As soon as the door closed, Sooyoung turned to her with excitement in her eyes. 

“That’s _the girl_? From your gym?” she asked, with a loud whisper. 

“Yes,” Joohyun said with an equally hushed tone. “I’m _screwed!_”

“Well, no, she’s a massage therapist, I didn’t hire anyone to-”

“-don’t finish that sentence if you want to keep your job,” Joohyun warned. Unfortunately, Sooyoung did not seem threatened, as she just grinned. 

“I wonder if Yerim and Wendy are up to anything…”

Sooyoung pulled out her phone, leaving Joohyun confused. “What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving so you can have alone time with the sexy massage therapist.” 

“No! You’re staying! You can’t leave me with a stranger!”

“She’s hardly a stranger. You’ve been swooning over her like a hormonal teenager for months,” her assistant scoffed. She gave Joohyun an evaluative look - worrying the CEO a little. “First of all, you should change. Wear that sexy white silk robe you’ve hidden in the back of your closet, put your hair down and would it kill you to put on some lipstick? _Aigoo_…”

Joohyun wasn’t a violent woman, but she pushed Sooyoung out of her room _so fast_. 

-

After a moment to collect her thoughts, Joohyun left the room - unchanged, thank you very much - to find that the curtains of the living room were fully shut. The room was dark, save for a few candles that Seulgi seemed to have brought and lit. There was also a small speaker, playing soft, ambient background music. 

Sooyoung’s shoes were gone from the front foyer of the apartment, telling Joohyun that her assistant had left. 

“You’re back,” Seulgi said, walking back into the room from the washroom. She had changed as well; no longer was she in the pair of jeans and collared shirt that she arrived in. She was wearing a uniform typical to what Taeseob and other massage therapists she’d had worn - loose, linen pants and a simple white blouse that tied together in the front. It was ordinary. Plain almost. But to Joohyun, something about having the woman in _her_ space made her look _so hot_ to her. 

“Sooyoung-ssi left,” Seulgi said, pensively, probably misconstruing Joohyun’s silence for discomfort. “She said that she’d text you later…” She took a breath, then continued. “I’m sorry if this is weird for you; I know lots of people who are uncomfortable with having massage therapists they know. Like I said, when Taeseob told me about the job, he said your name was Irene…”

“It’s my business name,” Joohyun supplied. She took another step closer to Seulgi, who was now standing at the head of the massage table. 

“Ah. Well. If you’re okay with waiting, could I refer someone else? Someone you hopefully don’t know,” Seulgi offered.

Immediately Joohyun shook her head. “No!”

“No?” 

“No - I want you,” Joohyuyn said, adamantly. She held Seulgi’s stare and raised her chin, finding some of her usual CEO-strength within her. “I want you to massage me. I have no problem with you being the massage therapist.” 

For a moment they just stared. Joohyun could see the wheels turning in Seulgi’s head, almost like she was weighing her options. 

“Okay,” Seulgi said quietly, almost meekly. It was an intriguing contrast from the Seulgi she knew. Joohyun wanted to see _that_ woman again. “Well, whenever you’re ready, undress to your comfort. Sooyoung said she would leave a robe for you in your room, please put it on. When you’re done, come back out here, disrobe and lie on the bed face down with the sheet over you. I’ll wait in the kitchen to give you privacy. Just call me when you’re ready.” 

She left with a pensive yet friendly smile. 

_‘Undress to your comfort_.’ Joohyun rolled her eyes. Being left alone with Seulgi made her feel like she wanted to dress in her most revealing lingerie _and_ her most padded winter clothing at once. The dichotomy.

Joohyun scolded herself - she had to get a hold of herself. Seulgi was here to _work_. It was completely innocent and she didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. That would be wrong. Inappropriate. There were thousands of reasons why she should just go back out there and ask Seulgi to leave.

But… 

She went back into her closet and reflexively grabbed her terry cloth robe. The soft, fluffy material felt comfortable to the touch. But then…

The sexy silk robe hung next to it, ignored but calling out to her. Joohyun ran her fingers over the soft, silk material. She remembered how nice it felt against her skin when she wore it. It would cling to her body like second skin, barely leaving anything to the imagination. It made her feel powerful and sexy whenever she put it on. 

A robe _this_ sexy was as much for whoever saw her wearing it as it was for herself. Unfortunately, she’d gotten it ages ago for an ex-girlfriend who _definitely_ didn’t deserve it. In fact, Joohyun had never gotten a chance to wear it for her; the opportunity never came up.

It was hanging there, just _begging _to be worn.

Joohyun smiled to herself. It wouldn’t hurt to have a bit of fun, would it? 

-

  
  


Now it was even darker in the living room. The sun had completely set in Seoul - there was no natural light coming in through the cracks in the curtains. Just a dark room with flickering candle light illuminating it. 

Joohyun’s living room had a large, floor to ceiling mirror against the wall, so she evaluated how she looked. 

Honestly? 

She looked sexy as hell. 

The combination of the thin silk robe and the shadows from the dancing candle light was _deadly_. Plus, Joohyun neatly tied her hair up, showing off her long, elegant neck. Even she had to admit - she had never looked so sensual before. 

Joohyun knew her worth and she knew her beauty. She attracted people everywhere she went. But there was only one person she was interested in - and that person was in her home, while she was wearing close to nothing.

Fuck. She was already so worked up. 

Joohyun took a deep, calming breath. She needed Seulgi to see her in this. So, instead of following the directions Seulgi gave her, she decided to stand next to the massage table. 

“Seulgi-ya?” Joohyun called out. “I’m ready.”

It was worth it. 

Seulgi reentered the room and her reaction was everything Joohyun hoped for. The CEO smirked as Seulgi visibility gulped, her eyes widened and jaw dropped. 

_“Oh god.”_

It was _barely_ above a whisper, and in the dim light, Joohyun could barely see her lips move but it was unmistakable. Like the predator stalking its prey, Joohyun kept her gaze steady as Seulgi slowly approached the massage table. Joohyun could see Seulgi’s eyes flitting from admiring her face, trailing down to her collarbones, to the hint of cleavage the loosely tied robe had allowed to show, down to her long, smooth legs. 

Then suddenly, as if catching herself, the massage therapist quickly schooled her expression. But her neutral expression didn’t fool Joohyun. 

She saw the way Seulgi responded and it was almost like it poured gasoline over the fire already blazing inside her.

“Did you say something?” Joohyun asked, innocently.

“Oh, uh, no, nothing.” Seulgi stammered, her cheeks going red. “I’ll just uh, turn around and you can get under the covers there.”

Seulgi awkwardly spun around to give Joohyun privacy, and the CEO had to admit - it was _adorable_. The way the woman was so flustered made some of the deep, physical need she had for the woman fade away - only to be replaced by something else. Affection. 

Seulgi was just so… _sweet. _

But then the CEO disrobed, letting the soft material fall off her body. Goosebumps immediately covered her skin but not because the room was cold. Looking at Seulgi’s back, which was turned away from her completely, Joohyun realized that she was fully nude around the object of her fantasies.

She took another deep breath and slipped under the covers. 

Okay. She had to stop.

The teasing was just fodder for her evening later, when she was left alone. She didn’t actually intend to do anything about her crush on Seulgi. Not in this moment, at least.

This was a job for Seulgi. This was just fun for Joohyun. Nothing was going to happen. She just needed to have a relaxing massage and then maybe a bit of relaxing time for herself _later. _But alone. 

“I’m ready,” Joohyun said to Seulgi’s back, as she placed her face in the massage table’s hole.

Now with her vision impeded, she had to rely on her sense of touch, smell and sound. Her breath hitched as she felt Seulgi adjust the blanket that was draped over Joohyun, lowering it to the small of her back. It was low enough that Joohyun knew it fell _just_ above her ass - and she heard Seulgi suck in a breath when she realized that Joohyun was _quite_ naked. 

The feather-light touch moved away, and somewhere next to her Joohyun could hear Seulgi, who seemed to be considering something. 

“Joohyun-ssi, I brought a few different kinds of massage oils for you today. Taeseob mentioned that you preferred subtle scents so I have a few of those… I also have a lavender scent, which is good for relaxing, and a citrus scent which would be good for relieving tension…” 

She almost smiled to herself. She was _full_ of tension right now, the anticipation of Seulgi touching her almost being too much to bear. 

“Citrus, please…” she requested. 

Seulgi made a noise of acknowledgement. Joohyun could hear a bottle being uncapped. 

“Your customer profile said that you preferred medium pressure and held a lot of tension in your mid-to-lower back - is that right?” Seulgi asked. 

“Yes - oh, and,” Joohyun hesitated. “Lately, uh, my upper thighs have been aching.” 

“Your upper thighs?” Seulgi repeated; Joohyun could hear the shock in her voice.

“Yes… I’ve been travelling for the past two weeks, on my feet for entire days. My legs have been giving me issues, especially at night…” 

“Oh… okay, Joohyun-ssi. I will pay close attention to your… thighs…” Seulgi replied, with an almost choked tone. 

Then suddenly, making Joohyun’s breath shallow a bit, she felt a warmth drizzle on her back, the smell of honey and citrus filling the room. 

“I heated the oil slightly to make sure it was comfortable against your skin. Let me know if you don’t like anything that I do. I take direction well…” Seulgi said. 

It could’ve been Joohyun’s imagination, but it was said in an almost… _daring_ way. 

Then Seulgi touched her.

The blaze that was already burning inside her started to roar. Seulgi’s strong, warm hands began to slowly and sensually work the tight muscles of Joohyun’s back. There was so much strength in the massage therapist’s touch, which rubbed circles against her skin, loosening the muscles and making them more amenable to her skillful manipulation. She wouldn’t have thought it by looking at Seulgi’s hands. They were small, yet her fingers were _so_ long. Joohyun had often wondered what they’d felt like against her, and now that she had, she wanted more.

Her core began to throb a little, so she pressed her legs together more tightly.

Joohyun was just proud that she hadn’t yet made a sound. She bit her bottom lip, just in case, already conscious that her breathing began to be laboured. 

“Your back is so beautiful,” Seulgi observed, almost like she was whispering to herself. 

“Thank you,” Joohyun whispered back, trying to muffle her whine as Seulgi began to stroke her fingers gently down her spine. 

That movement began her undoing. This time Joohyun barely suppressed a moan; she let out an involuntary, low mewl which made Seulgi freeze. 

“Am I hurting you?” Seulgi asked. Thank god she just stopped moving; if Seulgi pulled her hands away from Joohyun, she thinks she would’ve screamed out in frustration. Seulgi’s touch was turning her into a mess, awakening something in her that she’d never felt before. 

“No... It just… it feels really good.” 

“Is the pressure okay?” Seulgi asked.

Then, boldly, Joohyun requested: “Go harder.” 

With the pads of her thumbs, Seulgi began to rub firmly against the small of her back. The sensation itself was nice against her sore back - but it was the tips of her fingers that grazed the top of Joohyun’s ass that made her breath hitch, once again. That’s when she realized that Seulgi was standing over her head, leaning forward to exert pressure against her. If she was facing up, she’d be met with Seugli’s strong stomach, _so close_ to the gorgeous woman’s center…

Joohyun scrunched her eyes shut once more and _willed_ herself to think of anything else. Bunnies. Puppies. Kittens.

_Anything_ but the sexy woman who was currently working her body in ways that it had never been touched before.

That worked, for a bit. She was in the middle of imagining the terror of petting Sooyoung’s dog Haetnim, when Seulgi moved from massaging Joohyun’s arms. Seulgi inched her fingers upwards to her shoulders once again, then delicately traced her fingers up her sides, accidentally touching the sides of Joohyun’s breasts.

This time _both_ of them hitched in a breath.

This was _torture_. Feeling Seulgi so close to her, the way she was touching her so expertly, simultaneously relaxing and winding her up, was almost too much for her.

Almost. 

Then Seulgi moved. She felt her move to the side of the bed, next to her legs. Over the blanket, she gently kneaded the legs, almost to prepare Joohyun for the sensations.

This time Joohyun didn’t even bother suppressing her groan.

“That feels _so_ good,” she mumbled out, shamelessly, once Seulgi reached the backs of her upper thighs.

“You must be quite sore?” Seulgi asked, with a little crack in her voice. Joohyun just nodded. She heard Seulgi sigh and pull the sheet up higher, so it was covering her more completely. “Please face up now. I’ll begin work on your legs. I’ll have to roll up the sheet a bit for more access to your thighs but don’t worry, I’ll…” she swallowed her words, then spoke again. “I’ll be sure to keep you modest.” 

Joohyun cautiously turned around, clutching the top of the sheet as she did so to make sure she didn’t reveal too much. She thought maybe this had gone too far - she was losing all sense of propriety and her willpower was slipping away. She kept her eyes shut, not wanting to look at the gorgeous woman as her hands worked _wonders_ on her body. She knew if she looked into Seulgi’s eyes, she would’ve done something that she’d regret. 

Honestly, she’d already done so much that she’d regretted already. She should’ve at least worn underwear, she should’ve at least worn a regular robe, she should’ve insisted that Sooyoung stay behind…

With her eyes shut she didn’t even have a warning when Seulgi reached for the bottom of the sheet. The massage therapist folded the thin bedsheet up her legs, past her knees and stopping midway up her thighs. Then she started to drip the oil on her shins. 

Unconsciously, Joohyun spread her legs slightly. She had to; her senses were being overwhelmed, like she was in a vivid dream. She was glad for the scented oil, because she was sure without it, the smell of her arousal would’ve been obvious.

Then Seulgi began. Her strong hands, stroking up and down her legs, made her shift a bit on the bed. The way the woman squeezed and massaged up and down her calf muscle made Joohyun whimper out once more. Seulgi took it as a sign to continue, adding more oil and continuing to rub and press against her sore leg.

Seulgi slid her hands up, and the higher she went, the less control Joohyun had over her voice. She poorly stifled her groan as Seulgi inched her hands up her thighs. She would’ve been embarrassed but Seulgi didn’t stop, she didn’t hesitate, so Joohyun figured she didn’t mind the noises. She gently kneaded her hands up and down, from her knees up towards her center, but stopping each time her fingers slipped past the blanket covering her modesty. 

“Is this still okay?” Seulgi asked, her words strained. 

Joohyun just nodded. As Seulgi moved her hands upwards, this time they slipped under the blanket. Then again. And again. As she rubbed circles, her fingers inched closer and closer to where Joohyun needed her, to where she’d fantasized about having her.

The oil was impossibly slick now - probably from the heat swirling around them both and then-

Seulgi’s fingers slipped _too_ high.

The tips of her fingers, slick from the massage oil, slid up and accidentally touched Joohyun where the CEO was _desperate _for her, brushing against her wet heat. 

And this time Joohyun moaned, loudly, without restraint. 

Seulgi pulled away quickly as Joohyun’s eyes flew open, only to see Seulgi staring back at her, panting with a flustered, embarrassed, yet darkened gaze. 

“I’m-” Seulgi took a deep, shaky breath. This was affecting her as much as it was affecting Joohyun. “I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay…” Joohyun whispered out. “It’s fine. You didn’t mean to.”

Seulgi nodded, looking guilty. “I swear, I’m not usually this way…”

“It’s fine…”

“Are your legs okay? Do you want me to continue or should I move on?”

Joohyun wanted her to continue. She wanted her to slip her hands up, into her, and let her come undone.

But that was too much. Everything was just _too much_. 

“Let’s just move on.”

“Okay,” Seulgi said, almost looking relieved. She pulled the sheet down and covered Joohyun’s legs, pulling the sheet lower so it fell just as her cleavage began. 

Then she walked around the table, standing next to Joohyun’s side.

For a moment she did nothing. Joohyun was confused, expecting her neck and face to be massaged next but nothing. 

“I’m sorry, Joohyun-ssi…” Seulgi whispered, sounding almost devastated. “I can’t continue this.” 

“Seulgi?” Joohyun asked, worriedly looking at Seulgi. Her breath was laboured, she looked flushed red and was pointedly avoiding looking directly at Joohyun. She grabbed a towel, removing as much of the massage oil as she could from her hands. 

“I… I’m being unprofessional right now. I can’t continue this while I…”

“While you?”

“While I’m feeling this way towards you. I can’t.”

Joohyun sucked in a breath. “How are you feeling towards me?”

Finally Seulgi stopped wringing her fingers. She looked directly at Joohyun, her expression dark and powerful. It would’ve been intimidating, how Seulgi was looking at her - like Joohyun was a whole fucking meal. 

But instead it just made Joohyun want her. Screw the rules. Screw propriety. Fuck it all. 

“Seulgi,” Joohyun spoke again, this time firmly. “How do you feel about me?” 

Then Seulgi’s expression darkened evenmore. “Like I want to feel every part of you. Like I want to explore every inch of you. Your skin. Inside you. Taste you.” 

“Oh, _fuck_ it, Kang Seulgi,” Joohyun said, before sitting up and letting the thin sheet fall off her body. She reached forward and tugged at the collar of Seulgi’s shirt, bringing their lips together. 

As soon as Seulgi’s soft, full lips touched hers, Joohyun let out a primal moan. _God, _her lips were fucking incredible. Joohyun could tell that Seulgi was shocked by the CEO’s assertiveness, but the massage therapist quickly took control, slipping her tongue past Joohyun’s wanting lips. The way she kissed her, intensely, urgently, like her was the only way Seulgi could breathe, made Joohyun feel like she’d just touched a livewire. 

“_Joohyun_,” Seulgi gasped out, as the CEO started to pull her shirt off her body. “Are you sure?” 

Joohyun couldn’t help but smirk at Seulgi’s cute question - of course she was sure. They were making out and Joohyun was completely naked. But still, she asked, like a _gentlewoman_. 

Joohyun didn’t understand why but she found her even more irresistible. 

“Yes. I’m sure.”

Joohyun recaptured her lips again and groaned, this time out of frustration, when Seulgi pulled away. Her annoyance didn’t last long - Seulgi kissed down Joohyun’s lips to her neck, making the CEO tremble under her. She licked and nipped against the sensitive skin, and then confessed with her lips against her, “I have been a _wreck_ over you since we first met.” 

“What?” Joohyun asked, clutching her against her. 

“How you would just stand there in the change room in your sports bra and underwear, changing before your session?” Seulgi asked, with a long swipe of her tongue up the length of her neck, before kissing her way back to her mouth. She gave her a quick peck, and then said, with her eyes boring into Joohyun’s, “It made me _furious_. You were so sexy and you didn’t seem to have any idea.”

“Seulgi, I-”

“I’ve wanted you ever since then.”

“Now you can have me,” Joohyun said, firmly, before pulling Seulgi up onto the massage table with her. Her nude body pressed against Seulgi’s fully clothed one. The sensation of her naked skin against Seulgi’s clothed body made it feel so _wrong_ and _forbidden_ and _unbelievably sexy_. 

But Joohyun was impatient. She needed to feel the hard lines and muscles of Seulgi’s body completely against hers. She pulled at Seulgi’s clothes, tugging her shirt open and gasping as her hands reached perfect, bare skin. It was just her luck - Seulgi wasn’t wearing a bra. Her greedy fingers explored the newly revealed expanse, her groan mimicking Seulgi’s as her fingers played with Seulgi’s dusky nipples as Seulgi quickly removed her shirt and pants the rest of the way.

Finally they were both naked. Seulgi laid on top of Joohyun, who was glad the table could support both of their weight. They feverishly continued to kiss each other and rock against one another. 

Skin against skin. Lips against lips. Their centers pressed against each other's thighs, arched together to relieve the pressure within them. She could feel Seulgi’s want for her, damp against her skin, and it made her move her hips against her more purposefully. 

As Seulgi resumed marking her neck, she turned her head and gasped. The large mirror in the living room was perfectly reflecting their activities. Joohyun didn’t know where she ended and where Seulgi began. It was so fucking hot. 

Joohyun was so caught up in watching that she stopped grinding against her as fervently. When Seulgi noticed, she followed her line of sight and smirked, catching Joohyun’s gawk. Joohyun, despite being in that position with her, still managed to blush under her gaze. 

“You like to watch?” Seulgi asked. She grounded firmly against Joohyun once again, this time angling her leg _just so_, making Joohyun gasp and clutch at her back. “_Fuck_, I don’t blame you. We look so good…” 

All Joohyun could do was thrust back and kissed her in response. She was so wrapped up in the embrace, in licking and sucking her tongue into her mouth, that she didn’t notice Seulgi’s hand trailing down her body. 

Not until Seulgi was putting her perfect fingers to good use did she realize. Seulgi slightly dipped into Joohyun’s warmth with her index finger, gathered up her wetness for lubrication, and trailed it up to her clit, to swirl deliberate and sensual circles around the bundle of nerves. It made Joohyun quake beneath her, so the woman bit her lip to stifle her moans.

“Are you holding back, baby?” Seulgi asked. “Don’t. I want you loud. I want to hear you.” 

Seulgi continued playing with Joohyun’s clit, escalating the pressure and speed of her fingers as the CEO continued to thrash upwards towards her. Simultaneously, Seulgi kissed her way down to her chest, gently toying Joohyun’s nipples with her lips and teeth and licking away any slight pain with her tongue. This time, without restraint, Joohyun cried out. Her moan reverberated in the room; she was glad the building was well-built. She doesn’t know if she could face her neighbours if they’d heard her. 

No past lover, not her over-active imagination, nothing came close to what Seulgi was bringing out of her. Joohyun would’ve been surprised that Seulgi knew exactly what to do to make her quiver like this, but _of course_ Seulgi knew exactly what to do. She was good with her hands. 

When she felt herself almost off the edge, Seulgi surprised her once again, slipping not one, but two fingers into her. Joohyun cried out again and shut her eyes in pure pleasure. 

Suddenly, Seulgi stopped.

“Keep watching us,” she demanded. Only when Joohyun opened her eyes and turned her head to face the mirror did the woman continue her thrusting. “Good girl.”

She was close - hell, she’d been close from the second that she saw her. But she was just _seconds_ away from the sweetest release she’d ever had. Hearing Seulgi boss her around and having the visual of her being fucked so well only helped. 

To even Joohyun’s surprise, she came, loud and hard with the first curl of Seulgi’s fingers inside her. 

She would’ve been embarrassed for coming so quickly if it didn’t feel _so fucking good_. She watched her body arch up against Seulgi’s as she came, involuntarily meeting the thrusts of Seulgi’s forearm with her hips, heightening the orgasm as it rippled through her in a powerful wave. Joohyun knew her hold on Seulgi was tight - her nails were digging into the woman’s shoulders, leaving marks on her skin - but it only seemed to intensify everything for both of them. 

And that’s when Seulgi came with one, firm downward thrust on her thigh, which she’d been riding this whole time. Seulgi gasped and cried out above Joohyun. She continued to circle and thrust her hips down onto Joohyun’s muscular thigh - still sore, but in a _delicious_ way. With Joohyun’s peak coming down, she grabbed Seulgi’s hips and pushed them further down onto her, extending the woman’s orgasm even more. 

-

Joohyun didn’t remember how they ended up in her bedroom, but here they were. In a haze, she’d pushed Seulgi onto her bed, the both of them still completely absorbed by each other. They were tasting and exploring, and fulfilling every dream Joohyun had about the woman. 

Climbing on the bed and settling between Seulgi’s spread legs, she didn’t even wait for Seulgi’s head to hit the pillows. Joohyun dove her face right in. _Fuck_, she tasted so good. She immediately swirled her tongue against the woman’s weeping cunt. Joohyun couldn’t help but grin when she felt fingers tangle in her hair and press her mouth against her even more. Then Seulgi began to thrust and hump against her face. 

“You’re doing _so good_, baby,” Seulgi cried, through gritted teeth. “You’re such a good girl…” 

Both of them moaned out - Seulgi in raw, animalistic pleasure, and Joohyun in pure joy. Joohyun felt a surge of… something. Not pride - something more than just pride. It was hedonistic. Right now she just wanted Seulgi to use her however she wanted to. 

Joohyun, the all powerful CEO, fucking _loved_ being used like this. Especially by _her_.

Seulgi’s fingers relaxed slightly, and Joohyun took advantage of that by slipping two fingers inside her. Her fingers fucked her deeply, curling inside her, pulling and pushing moans out of her that Joohyun didn’t even know she could coax out of someone. 

As she did this, Seulgi moved her hands from Joohyun’s head to clutch at the sheets.

She was pulsing around Joohyun’s fingers, to the point that Joohyun could barely thrust her fingers into her. She settled with tapping upwards against her g-spot and continuing to ripple and flick her tongue against the woman. 

Doing that caused Seulgi’s undoing. 

Joohyun could tell her orgasm was more powerful than the one she had earlier. It was louder and less controlled. Seulgi cried out and her moan only intensified as Joohyun stiffened her tongue against her clit, giving it more precise and intense stimulation.

“_Fuck_, Joohyun,” she cried out. Joohyun _preened_ at how Seulgi came and how she said her name. Seulgi came so loud and so hard because of her. She’d never felt like this before during sex. She’s never had anyone as good as Seulgi. 

Seulgi reached down and pulled Joohyun up by the shoulders, effectively stopping her. Joohyun was awed as she pulled out her fingers and saw how wet she’d become, coating her fingers completely. 

_She did that_. 

She sloppily wiped her fingers on the bed sheets then let herself be sensually kissed by the woman. 

“God…” Joohyun whispered, as their kiss broke. She curled up next to Seulgi, letting herself be pulled into an embrace. She settled her head on Seulgi’s chest, pressing a quick kiss to her collarbone. 

“I’m flattered, but you can just call me ‘Seulgi’...” the woman teased. 

Despite the corny joke, Joohyun laughed. 

“You touch me like some sex goddess and then you make _that_ joke? How are you real?” the CEO asked. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Seulgi murmured, sounding tired.

Now, finally, Joohyun’s exhaustion over the evening and her trip started to take hold. She slinked an arm across Seulgi’s toned stomach, keeping her in place. 

“Stay,” she mumbled as Seulgi tightened her hold.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

-

“How was your massage last night?” 

Being late for work the next day was _not _what Joohyun planned for, especially after all those weeks away. But it was somehow made worse by Sooyoung, who was waiting patiently in her office for her to arrive with a mischievous Cheshire Cat grin. 

She wouldn’t have been so late either, if Seulgi and her hadn’t continued in the morning when her alarm went off… 

“Shut up.” 

“I just noticed that the payment was refused last night. Did you not end up getting a massage then? Or maybe something _else_ happened?”

Damnit, she should’ve remembered that as her assistant, Sooyoung was in charge of transferring the payment to Seulgi. 

Knowing that Sooyoung was going to be obnoxious until she got a satisfactory amount of gossip to feed her soul, she spared one _pretty _noteworthy detail. 

“We decided that it would be unwise for me to pay for a massage from someone I was dating…” 

Joohyun couldn’t help but smile and laugh along with Sooyoung as her assistant pulled her into an excited hug. 

By the end of the day, Joohyun’s iMessage was filled with texts from Yeri and Wendy, who along with Sooyoung, were pestering for more information about Seulgi. There was also a text from Taeseob, who apologized once again for not being able to massage her. 

There were also quite a few back-and-forth texts from Seulgi, where the two planned their first date. 

And Joohyun’s next massage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


	8. Tug of war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seulgi and Joohyun go to a hockey game. Yeri regrets everything. 
> 
> _Title from Tug of War by Carly Rae Jepsen_
> 
> **  
_This is unbeta'd! _  
**
> 
> This is dedicated to @toujourstephi and @baesjoohyun. Sorry I couldn’t make it about soccer, but to be fair, soccer deserves better than having me write about it, I’d do such a bad job. Also, I’m pretty sure I sucked at this hockey talk and as a Canadian, I am ashamed. 

**Pre-game**

Kim Yerim had very few regrets. 

She was an accomplished, beautiful, successful, cool, amazing, intelligent young woman (just to name a few qualities, she didn’t want to brag). She had so much to be proud of and because of her own hard work, perseverance, and a _little_ bit of luck.

She was basically faultless.

Except for… well, okay. She’d made a couple tiny errors in her life. 

When she was a kid, for example, she broke her mother’s favourite vase. It had been passed down through generations and had survived so much, until it met paths with the tornado that was a 6 year old Yeri. She’d never seen her mother so mad in her life and her punishment of no sweets for a week was enough to teach her a lesson to never do BoA choreography in the living room again.

Or during her first year of university, when she made out with (_hot as hell_, if not a little dorky) Suh Johnny at a party… Then later at that same party, she found herself making out with (_even hotter than hot as hell, _but somehow still dorky) Son Chaeyoung. That was a bit of an oversight and she had to deal with the fall-out that involved two _very_ hot but _very_ jealous people, but it wasn’t her fault that men and women found her irresistible! 

But out of her entire life, of ups and downs, small slip-ups and miniscule blunders, the biggest mistake she’d ever made was staring at her in the face at this moment. 

Through her university’s student union, she randomly won three tickets to some hockey show (Performance? Game? Whatever). After Googling it, she found out was a big exhibition tournament or whatever (Yeri had no idea, who the fuck cared about _sports_?!), with South Korea inviting elite teams from around the world. The game she was attending had Korea versus one of their special overseas visiting teams, Canada. 

Naturally, she thought of inviting her two best friends, Bae Joohyun and Kang Seulgi. They were losers who loved hockey and Yeri was a really nice person. 

Yes, they _hated_ each other. But Yeri thought that they’d get over their petty arguments for free hockey tickets. 

But no. Oil and water couldn’t mix, and Yeri failed to recognize the error of her ways until it was too late. 

“Thanks again for inviting me!” Seulgi said happily, waiting a gigantic foam finger in the shape of a #1 in the air. It was covered in a red and white maple leaf pattern, which perfectly matched the Team Canada hockey jersey that Seulgi was wearing - number 77, for Shon Seungwan, aka ‘Wendy’, aka _“the greatest hockey player of all time,”_ if you asked Seulgi. 

“I accept ‘thank yous’ in the form of you buying me snacks and alcohol.” 

“Deal. You said you won three tickets, Is anyone else coming?” Seulgi asked, excitedly bouncing next to her, ready to enter Mokdong Stadium. 

“-What is _she_ doing here?”

Both girls turned and there stood Yeri’s other guest, Joohyun, wearing a Team Korea jersey, number 31 for _her_ favourite player, Park Sooyoung. She also had a blue and red circle painted on her cheek _and_ was waving a little South Korean flag. 

Yeri would’ve felt left out if she had less dignity. 

She rolled her eyes and stepped in between them, linking her arms through both girls and leading them towards the entrance. 

“How about you two not fight for the next few hours for _me_, because I brought you here. For free.” 

Both girls just grumbled _‘fine_’ while glaring at each other.

Hopefully they’d behave.

-

**First Period**

Their seats, as far as Yeri could tell, were quite impressive. For a brief moment, Joohyun and Seulgi weren’t at each other's throats when they saw that they were seated right on the ice and “close to the action!” as Joohyun put it.

Yeri just thought it felt cold. They were next to _ice_. She would’ve preferred to be higher up, away from the cold air. Good thing she wore her thickest padded jacket. 

The peace between Seulgi and Joohyun came to an abrupt end when the game started. The uh, ball (wait, no, it was a puck) was whooshing around on the ice and the skaters - _erm_, hockey players - were hitting it and… okay, yeah, even if she cared, she could barely focus, sitting between the two clowns she decided to bring. 

"You’re just jealous that my team is going to win,” Seulgi yelled over Yeri’s head at Joohyun, who scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Team Canada has Szabados, Spooner and oh wait, _who_? Right - _Wendy Shon_!” 

“I honestly think you should get a psychological evaluation, because you’re saying those names like you think they’re better than Park Jongah and _Park Sooyoung_.” 

Next to Yeri, Seulgi seethed. Yeri leaned forward, hoping that she could completely block out their argument by watching the team wearing blue shoot the puck towards the goaltender person wearing red. 

“Sooyoung Park? _Seriously_?! What does she have that Shon doesn’t have?!” 

One thing she could appreciate about hockey? Even in their full costume (uh, outfits?), these women had _nice_ butts.

“Sooyoung has height, power, accuracy-”

_Amazing_ butts. They probably all had strong arms too. Yeri always liked women with strong arms… 

“She doesn’t have Wendy’s speed, skating skills _or_ stamina.”

Angrily, Joohyun shook her head, the motion spilling the delicious popcorn from the bag she was holding. This time Yeri couldn’t ignore them - Joohyun was wasting her delicious hockey snack! So she grabbed it from her, stuffed her mouth with some kernels, and then continued to ignore both girls.

_Focus on the butts, Kim Yerim._

“Why do you even care, she plays for Team Canada,” Joohyun snapped, almost angrily waving her Korean flag. “Why are you even supporting them?”

“Because I support the team with the greatest players and Wendy’s on Team Canada!” Seulgi said, now a little crazy with how she pointed that giant foam finger up and down. 

“Go move to Canada then!” Joohyun yelled. 

“Maybe I will!” Seulgi yelled back.

_UGH! _For the love of God, even butts couldn’t distract Yeri from this shit! 

“Stop!” Yeri yelled, angrily. “Maybe you _both_ should move away from me, far, far away!” Her outburst made both girls lean backwards in their seats, both looking appropriately scolded. 

For people who loved hockey so much, they’d spent more time fighting than even waiting the game. 

Speaking of; why was _Yeri_ watching the game? 

“You guys are dorks and I wish I could unhear this entire conversation,” Yeri muttered. “I’m going to go get a drink. When I come back you two better not have ripped each other's heads off. Not because I care, but because Seulgi-_unnie_ drove me here, and she can’t if she’s lost her head or if she’s being arrested for tearing Joohyun-_unnie’s_ off.” 

-

**Intermission**

Yeri took her time coming back to her seats. She walked around the venue, slowly enjoying her popcorn bag in peace. She also noticed that the nice ahjummas working at the customer service desk were watching an episode of ‘The King of the Masked Singer’ on a little television screen. When they saw that she, too, wasn’t interested in the hockey game, they invited her to join them and gave her some ramyeon.

She was having an amazing time at the hockey game. 

When she came back, she saw that she actually missed the rest of the first period. But to her surprise (and disappointment), Seulgi and Joohyun were both still alive. Both of them were still arguing about the game, but this time over Yeri’s empty seat. 

But at least they weren’t yelling.

Seulgi sat with her arms crossed, jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed as Joohyun gloated. 

“Team Korea is leading!” Joohyun singsonged at her, dancing in her seat while she waved her flag. “My team’s in the lead!”

Seulgi hunched in her spot, the sad foam hand now pointing downwards. “Shut up.”

“By _two_ goals,” Joohyun said, still dancing. 

“I said shut up.”

“I see the game is going well?” Yeri said, both girls looking up at her with two totally different expressions.

Joohyun looked ecstatic. Seulgi looked pathetic. 

“Yes!”

“No!”

-

**Second Period**

The game was actually kind of exciting. Team Canada had been able to close the lead and the game was now tied. On top of that, a few players got into a yelling match _right in front of them_. She hoped that it would end up into a proper fist fight, but Joohyun explained that fighting was only allowed in the National Hockey League, the men's league in North America.

“And if it were allowed here, Wendy Shon could beat up Park Sooyoung,” Seulgi added. 

“Are you kidding me?! Isn’t she barely 155 cm?!” 

“She’s _scrappy!”_

“I guess you’re right, I’m shorter than you but I could definitely destroy _you_,” Joohyun argued back. Fortunately, Seulgi seemed to have enough sense in her to not contradict her. 

Yeri thought it was a good call. Joohyun was right; she was tiny but if she got into a physical fight, she could probably snap anyone in half. 

Aside from that one argument, the two girls seemed to be having a better time coexisting. Because the game was tied, both of them were more hyper-focused on it. It was easy to get swept up into it; even though Yeri didn’t care who won (she would’ve usually based it on looks, but both teams had a few smoke shows), but she found herself reacting with the crowd whenever shots were missed or when penalties were made. 

There _was_ something strange happening though, off the ice. Maybe it was because Yeri was trapped in between them, but she noticed Seulgi and Joohyun occasionally would glance at one another. It wasn’t in the usual ‘_I HATE YOU SO I’M GOING TO GLARE_’ kind of way that they looked at each other, no. 

It was like, whenever one of the girls was _certain_ that the other wasn’t looking, they’d toss a look their way, in kind of a, _dare Yeri speculate_, yearning kind of way. Like these two were almost… _crushing_ on each other.

She had to laugh. 

Of course they were. These two were _such_ losers. Their obviousness was actually quite _hilarious_. 

This actually made Yeri feel a bit smug, as she was the person who introduced them to each other. 

She’d done it a little over a year ago, after getting to know them both (and determining that they didn’t quite meet her standards for dating herself, _ha!_). She thought Seulgi’s calm and cute nature would match well with Joohyun’s playful and competitive side. She also thought that they were both equally good looking. Those things were important when she was matching up her friends.

She waited until she threw a party, bringing both women together to make the introductions. And she was right - they _were_ well suited. Joohyun _so _obviously was taken with Seulgi’s sweet and kind of embarrassing flirtation. And Seulgi definitely found Joohyun’s ability to be both aloof and vampish to be intriguing. 

Yeri watched their chemistry from across the room, and was patting herself on the back for setting them up when suddenly both girls nearly exploded, both yelling about _hockey_. 

Fucking _hockey_ is what tore them apart. 

But somehow, maybe today, at this cold ass hockey game, with Yeri playing third wheel between them, they’d get over themselves and just hook up already. 

Maybe the Lesbian Gods allowed Yeri to win this random hockey ticket draw so that she could bring her uncool hockey obsessed friends together.

While Yeri thought this, _Shon_ and _Park_ got into a bit of a shoulder shove - both girls on either side of her yelled foul at the opposing player, and once again glared at one another.

But when Yeri looked closely, she saw something else. 

The yearning was there, totally not obvious to either girl but on full display for Yeri’s knowing eyes.

_Interesting..._

-

**Intermission**

“So you were saying something about leading?”

“Shut up.”

Mirroring the previous period, now it was Seulgi who was happily dancing in her seat and Joohyun sulking. 

Yeri rolled her eyes, deciding to scroll through her phone to ignore them.

It didn’t help. Those loud, annoying hockey nerds.

“Because Team Canada’s tied the game,” Seulgi said, mimicking Joohyun’s tone from before. 

“One goal is all it takes for Korea to win,” Joohyun countered. 

“True, but Korea’s starting the last period with a penalty! One,” Seulgi waved her foam finger in Joohyun’s face, “player down!”

Joohyun swatted Seulgi’s foam finger away. “It’s actually pathetic; Canada doesn’t have a shot at beating Korea unless we have less players on the ice.”

Seulgi gave a laugh of indignance. “It’s actually pathetic that you’re completely ignoring Team Canada’s four gold medals at the Olympics.”

“It’s actually pathetic that they lost to the US in Pyeongchang,” Joohyun countered. “Didn’t you cry?”

“Didn’t _you_ cry when Korea ranked _last_?!”

Joohyun scoffed, like Seulgi offended her at the highest level. “I will honestly murder you right now if you don’t watch what you say about our united Korea team.”

“Me being dead still doesn’t change the fact that _you_ have terrible taste in hockey teams!” Seulgi said, looking about ready to square up. 

“Yeah, but you being dead means that I’d finally have some peace.”

“Not if I actually come back to _haunt_ you!” 

“You’re just _so _obsessed with me that even in the after life you’d come back for me?!” 

“Obsessed?!” Seulgi yelled back. “You’re the one who always texts me-”

“-You started texting _me_ first!” 

“_Oh my god_, can you two _please_ just hook up or shut up?!” Yeri yelled, losing her cool and turning a few heads in their direction because of her outburst.

Joohyun and Seulgi both paled at her words, shrinking away in their seats. Yeri stood up, her hands were on her hips, and she felt as though her (living) mother’s spirit took over her as scolded both girls. 

“First of all, this gross tension is _so gross!_ Either watch the game and be quiet or make out already! You guys are ruining perfectly excellent butts for me!” she added, the truest affront in this situation.

“Yerimie…”

“_Ya_, Kim Yerim…” 

“Second of all, you two _text_?! Oh my god, you’re both _hopeless!” _Yeri threw her hands up in the air, at a loss. Then, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed into her head, and she almost kicked herself for not thinking of it sooner. “You know what?! If Team Korea wins then you two have to buy me dinner. And if Team Canada wins, then you two have to go on a date!” 

Seulgi and Joohyun pouted, then Joohyun said, “Both of those things sound like terrible options…”

“Well, you’re here because of me, and that’s the law! Gift giver gets to boss the gift getters around!” (It wasn’t a law, but Yeri was totally feeding off of Seulgi and Joohyun’s scared energy.) 

“Whatever,” Joohyun said, standing up. “I’m going to the restroom.” 

Yeri took that opportunity to sit in Joohyun’s seat; if she had to be here, she was going to _not_ be trapped in the middle anymore. 

“Uh… I’m going to get a drink,” Seulgi said, pensively standing up. “Do you want anything, Yeriie?”

Yeri just waved Seulgi away. “Just get me something alcoholic.” 

**-**

**Final Period**

It was 2-2 and the tension in the packed stadium was high. 

Now in a less uncomfortable seat, Yeri found herself getting swept up even more in the game. Not because she enjoyed the sport per say. Everything about hockey seemed like a huge mistake turned into a game. She could imagine how it started. Some dude in Canada in the 1700s or whatever was flailing on ice and decided to brace themself using a stick and then they accidentally hit a rock into a bush or something and then BAM! A sport. Stupid, right?!

But as stupid as it was, Yeri was totally wrapped up in the game because she now had a stake in it. She wasn’t going to admit it outloud, but she started to cheer for Team Canada. As much as she would’ve loved a free meal, vindication of her matchmaking skills was on the line.

These two losers had so much in common and let one stupid sport get in the way. Sure, it was a stupid sport played by women who had great butts, but from what Yeri could gather, neither Joohyun nor Seulgi seemed to care about the amazing booties in their faces. 

She was glad they were now being civil - and hopefully her words resonated with them, because _seriously_. Their chemistry was painfully obvious. 

They just needed to get over their stupid rivalry and get married and have a million hockey babies together. 

(Babies playing hockey would be quite cute, so Yeri could accept this.)

Just before intermission ended, Seulgi came back with a tray of drinks - with Yeri’s beer, a cola for herself, and a cola for Joohyun. 

“A truce drink for both of you,” she explained. “I’m sorry I’ve been… hockey crazy.” 

Joohyun sheepishly accepted her drink, and then pulled two Pepero boxes out of her bag.

“I also got a treat for both of you…” she said, handing the snacks to each girl. “I’m sorry too, Yerimie, Seulgi…” 

Yeri begrudgingly accepted the apologies (snacks and drinks were helpful). 

And now, the final period in full swing, two were currently leaned towards each other, discussing different tactics being used and like, weird hockey things. They spoke in their own language, saying things like _breakaway, hat trick _and _winger._ Fake stuff, Yeri assumed. 

At one point, Yeri nearly jumped out of her own skin when Joohyun laughed - basically cackled with joy - when Seulgi said,_ “Have you heard about the disappearance of the old zamboni driver? I’m sure he’ll resurface eventually.” _

_(_What the hell was a zamboni?!)

At first Yeri thought she was angrily hitting Seulgi, but no, Joohyun was doing _that thing_. You know, the thing where girls think someone is being funny and they hit them out of… happiness? And flirtation? Gross, right?

They were _sooooooo obvious_. Yeri kept rolling her eyes all night, they were beginning to kind of hurt. 

But now, with just two minutes left on the clock, the entire stadium, much less Joohyun and Seulgi, were silent. From what Yeri could understand, a goal could happen at any moment, breaking the tie and essentially winning the game. 

And then in _no time_ it felt, both teams whipping up and down the rink, the puck a blur as it sped quickly around the ice, the game ended.

_In a damn tie!_

“There’s going to be an overtime period, right?!” Yeri asked angrily, as everyone in the area began cheering for the players, despite there being no winner. 

“This was an exhibition game and there were no stakes, there won’t be any overtime,” Joohyun explained. 

Joohyun and Seulgi looked a little unsure and nervous about what Yeri was going to do next. And rightfully so. The conditions she set for the game were ruined. No free meal for her, and no forced date for her dumb friends... 

There was a thick, uncomfortableness in the air and then Seulgi asked, “Should, uh… should we just go home?” 

Yeri scoffed. Go _home_? After all the annoying fighting she had to endure? And then seeing their totally obvious chemistry right in front of her face?! 

Ugh. 

Honestly? She just wanted the two to stop being assholes to each other. 

“Look, it really sucks being friends with both of you sometimes,” Yeri said, not intending but a little bit of the frustration (and disappointment) she had towards them coming out in her tone. “I want to spend time with you both but you guys become _so annoying_. You’re mean to each other and you become so unlike yourselves, because separately, you two are some of the best people I know. And if you just used your heads for once, you’d realize that maybe you two could be perfect for each other.” 

Yeri paused and thought about it for a minute. Seulgi and Joohyun both glanced at each other, looking guilty for how they’d behaved. Even though Yeri was finally able to tell them how she felt, all of this just felt so… sad for her. They were her best friends and she didn’t want to lose either of them, ever. 

“You guys just need to promise me that you’ll _talk_ and figure out a way to coexist. For me. Okay?”

———

**Post-game**

When Seulgi realized that Joohyun had taken the subway there, she offered to drive her home. Yeri was dropped off first, the younger girl quickly scuttling out of the car, wanting to get out of the stifled atmosphere that was in Seulgi’s car.

It was, of course, really uncomfortable to be trapped in a vehicle with people you just scolded for a forty-minute car ride. Yeri was thankful for the escape. 

And now it was just the two hockey nuts and the sources of Yeri’s current headache in the car. 

It was awkward. 

Seulgi was nervously humming along to the stereo - the latest _Loona_ album was playing on a loop - and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. Joohyun was fiddling with her phone, nervously switching between Instagram and Twitter, but not actually looking at the feeds.

After what felt like _ages_ in silence (but was only exactly 14 minutes, according to how closely both of them looked at the clock), they arrived at Joohyun’s apartment building. Seulgi parked the car by the entrance. Silence filled the air as she turned the car off and the music shut off - not before Yeojin rapped _‘Why not? Do it!’ _almost daring the two to talk. 

Why not, right? They owed Yeri for all the emotional distress they’d caused her. She was a great friend to them both, and they’d failed to even consider how she felt with their constant bickering.

It seemed like both girls came to the same conclusion; it wasn’t a shock to either girl when Joohyun didn’t leave or when Seulgi remained still. 

Joohyun broke the silence first. 

“Should we talk about what Yeri said?”

Seulgi nodded. “Despite yelling at us… _a lot_… we probably haven’t been easy to be around…” 

“Why though?” Joohyun asked. “Why do we fight so much? Why do we hate each other? Is it really because of hockey?”

“I don’t hate you,” Seulgi said. “Do you… do you hate me?”

Joohyun shook her head. “I don’t. At all.” A pregnant pause followed, then Joohyun cautiously continued, “Seulgi-ya,” (the nickname gave Seulgi a little bit of a happy jolt), “how _do _you feel about me?”

Seulgi’s cheeks immediately flushed red. “What do you mean? We’re… friends… kind of.”

“Barely. And whenever we’re around we just fight.”

This was their moment. They could be completely honest with each other, and possibly, hopefully, the risk would be worth it. They could also lie, keep up this awful lie from the past year that they really did hate each other. But that was exhausting. It was exhausting to both of them, and now it was even affecting Yeri.

In the words of the greatest hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky, “you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.” 

“I… I’m sorry.” Seulgi started with, finding the nerve to at least do that. Then, with as much bravery and honesty as she could muster, she admitted, “I just… you’re really beautiful and smart… I don’t deal well with… girls who I… _like_.”

“Seriously?” Joohyun asked, almost laughing with shock. 

Seulgi nodded. “Whenever I’ve been… attracted… to someone I’ve messed it up by being… awkward.” 

“And the fighting?” 

“I didn’t mean for it to get this far but…” Seulgi shrugged, sheepishly. “I really do love Team Canada.” 

“You’re lucky you’re pretty…” Joohyun said, grinning. “I’m sorry too. I got all riled up when you did, and I thought… I don’t know. I just didn’t deal with this well at all. Plus, you were kind of hot when you got all passionate about hockey…” 

Seulgi blushed, but she totally understood. “Yeah. You’re really beautiful, even when you’re mad at me…” 

Despite hitting Seulgi - playfully - she laughed. 

“So what do we do now?” Seulgi asked. “Truce? Can we… get along now?” 

Joohyun shook her head; ‘get along’ was not what she had in mind, nor was it what either girl seemed to want from the other. No, finally, after tonight, they were going to take a shot on what had been an empty net this whole time. 

This was their gold medal moment. 

“Seulgi? Can I try something?” 

“Sure? What, though?”

“This.” Joohyun unbuckled her seatbelt then reached over the console separating them to grab at Seulgi’s collar. With one last look, straight in Seulgi’s eyes, she closed her own and captured the other girl’s lips in a kiss. 

Both girls would agree, this was _much_ better than if their favourite team won today. 

———

**Overtime**

A little less than a year later, Kim Yerim was proud to say her matchmaking record was fully, and completely untarnished. Joohyun and Seulgi, in true U-Haul lesbian fashion, had moved in together just months after starting to date. 

They were really, truly perfect for each other. 

Sometimes Yeri missed their fighting. It was much more preferable over seeing them dry hump all the time. (They were insatiable and it was disgusting for Yeri’s delicate, pure soul to have to see. These jerks could barely keep their hands off each other.) 

“What’s this?” Seulgi asked, as Joohyun opened the housewarming gift that Yeri very painstakingly prepared for them. 

Both girls took out the contents of the box to reveal two matching hockey jerseys, but customized for their own very specific needs. Yeri took two jerseys - Wendy Shon’s jersey from Team Canada and Park Sooyoung’s from Team Korea - and found someone to cut them in half and sew them back together. 

“It’s your couple's jerseys,” Yeri explained. “Now you two can wear them when you go to hockey games, so you can show everyone that hockey can bring people together, not tear them apart. And I got this shirt, for if I ever go with you guys.”

Yeri unzipped her hoodie, to reveal a t-shirt she made for herself. In big, bold letters, it read: _‘I’m here for the hockey butts.’_

Seulgi and Joohyun were both speechless. 

Yeri took their silence as reverence for her brilliant and unstoppable mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **If you see this fic posted anywhere but Archive of Our Own and AsianFanfics, it has been copied without my consent. Please do not repost and do not convert/plagiarize this work.**


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